


Alma Mater- Hail!

by barbitone



Series: Voltron Fanfiction [42]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Roommates/Housemates, Anal Sex, Angst, Childhood Friends, Drinking, Fluff, Humor, M/M, Mutual Pining, Oral Sex, Parties, Pining, Recreational Drug Use, Roommates, Sex, Threesomes, Underage Drinking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-23
Updated: 2019-05-23
Packaged: 2020-01-25 13:54:44
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 33,562
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18575830
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/barbitone/pseuds/barbitone
Summary: Lotor and Sendak were childhood friends, thick as thieves and completely inseparable. Rooming together in college was supposed to be fun and easy, logical. Of course, the fact that Lotor was in love with Sendak made everything so much more complicated. It would have been a lot less complicated if he’d realized that Sendak loved him too.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Legallyable](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Legallyable/gifts).



> Skaiah was like "Sen and lotor as roommates and are into each other but don’t want to ruin the friendship so no one says or acts on it til one day lotor decides its time to move on and goes out with someone, and sen tries to not get jealous but when lotor comes home from a date sen loses it"
> 
> And then this happened and just... went way out of control. Thank you lodak jail discord- you are all incredible and ridiculous and I love you all- here is my tribute.
> 
> P.S. Back when I was in college we had sinks in freshmen dorm rooms. I don't know if that's normal or what, but yeah- there's a sink in Lotor and Sendak's room. I also have no idea what a kinesiology degree actually entails, so I'll be using that tidbit however I like XD Mainly- towards my backrubs agenda
> 
> P.P.S. This fic is not finished as of this point, so there will likely not be a steady posting schedule. This also means I'll be updating tags and relationships as I go. Endgame Lodak, but we might have some detours along the way ;)

 

* * *

 

 

“I love you,” Sendak whispered, smoothing his hands down Lotor’s chest and sides.

“I love you too,” Lotor breathed out, smiling up at him. Sendak grinned and leaned down to kiss him, wet and clumsy, desperate. Lotor moaned against him, wrapping his arms around Sendak’s neck to pull him closer, to show him how much he wanted this, how much he loved him.

“You’re so beautiful,” Sendak whispered, sliding his hands down at last, slipping a finger teasingly under the waistband of Lotor’s boxer briefs. “You feel so good. Do you want me?”

“Yes,” Lotor whispered, biting his lip and shifting to get closer. “Yes- please-“

“You’re going to be late to physics,” Sendak whispered seductively.

“I- I’m what?” Lotor asked with a frown. Sendak was pulling away from him, the room was growing dark. “What- wait!”

Lotor opened his eyes with a gasp.

“You’re definitely going to be late to physics,” Sendak said with a laugh from his side of the room. “Did you forget to set your alarm again?”

Lotor frowned as he looked over. Sendak was only wearing a tight pair of jeans, the muscular sun-kissed expanse of his back on full display. He bent over to fish his shoes out from under the bed and Lotor bit his lip as he looked away.

It was barely nine in the morning, he was in no way prepared to be dealing with Sendak looking like- like- some Greek god less than five feet away from him. Then again, he was never prepared.

“Must have been a good dream, though,” Sendak teased.

Lotor’s blood ran cold as he pulled his blanket up to his chin. He was _hard_ too, so that was fantastic.

“What do you mean?” he managed.

 _“Yes! Yes! Please!”_ Sendak mimicked, breathing heavily. He turned dramatically with his hand on his chest like he was delivering an epic Shakespearean monologue. _“Oh, yes!”_

“Oh my god,” Lotor said, chucking his pillow at Sendak while the absolute bastard just laughed.

“I’m off to breakfast,” Sendak said, tossing the pillow back. “Feel free to finish up in here.” He waggled his eyebrows with a smirk. “Just don’t forget to clean up.”

“Shut _up!”_ Lotor cried out, blushing so hard he thought he was going to die on the spot. “Oh my god, like you don’t have _dreams-“_

“I have _sex,_ Lotor,” Sendak said as he finally pulled a shirt on and rooted around in his bag to make sure he had his books and homework. “You know- that thing where there’s another person there and not just your hand? You should try it sometime. You’re cute- you could easily pull a nice boy if you just-“

“Ugh,” Lotor groaned, curling up into a ball facing the wall. He knew he _could,_ theoretically. But he didn’t want a nice boy, he wanted Sendak. He’d wanted Sendak ever since his thirteenth birthday. It had been August and he’d begged his father for a pool party and as soon as he’d seen Sendak in his swimming trunks he’d known it was all over for him.

He’d stayed in the pool for two hours straight in the desperate attempt to hide his boner, which refused to go away because Sendak had kept- _roughhousing_ with him like some sort of giant beautiful monster. The smell of chlorine still made him hard like some filthy Pavlovian response.

“Weren’t you leaving?” he asked.

“Yeah,” Sendak said, leaning over to kiss Lotor on the cheek- their morning ritual. It had started as a joke and then just never stopped. Lotor pretended to grumble but secretly he loved it. “Have a good day, baby.”

“Go away,” Lotor muttered.

“Awww, come on,” Sendak said, poking him in the shoulder.

“I’ll- I’ll have dinner on the table,” Lotor forced himself to say, blushing. Sendak poked him again and he sighed sharply. “Darling.”

“Don’t forget your essay,” Sendak said.

“Shit,” Lotor cursed, sitting up. “I forgot to-“

“Print it? Yeah, no- I printed it for you last night. It’s on your desk, green folder.”

“Oh my god, _Sendak-“_

“Don’t sweat it. We still on for lunch though?”

“Yes,” Lotor managed. “Yeah, at the Caf?“

“Yeah,” Sendak said with a grin. “Anyway- really gotta run. See you.”

“Right. Bye.” Lotor turned slightly so he could watch Sendak walking away. Why did his jeans have to be so ridiculously tight? The door slammed shut behind him and Lotor found himself suddenly alone.

This whole roommates thing had sounded like such a good idea over the summer, but now they were barely halfway through first semester and Lotor was seriously doubting his chances of making it through the year alive.

“Dammit,” he hissed, falling back against the sheets. He was so screwed. Worst of all- somehow he was still hard.

He checked his phone glumly. He had fourteen minutes until class. It would take him three minutes to get dressed and three more to go to the bathroom and brush his teeth, and then six minutes to walk to class. So he had exactly two minutes to jerk off.

Lotor sighed with resignation and shoved his hand into his pajama pants. It would have to be enough.

 

* * *

 

“Can’t believe you remembered your essay,” Shiro said as they walked out of their physics lab. The weather was beautiful, golden sunlight lighting up the sidewalks as a cool breeze ruffled Lotor’s hair.

“I’m not completely hopeless,” Lotor muttered, scowling as he pulled his hair back into a loose bun before the wind made a total mess of it.

Shiro laughed and stepped closer, bumping Lotor’s shoulder casually with his. “You forgot to turn in our lab reports _twice,_ buddy. It was that roommate of yours, wasn’t it. What’s his name? Sanda? Sendick? Se-“

“Sendak,” Lotor said.

“Sure. Wanna have lunch?”

“I’ve got plans, sorry,” Lotor said.

Shiro shrugged easily. “Maybe another time. Hey- my frat’s having a party tonight. You should come out.”

Lotor snorted, rolling his eyes. “ _Your_ frat? Since when? You’re just a pledge.”

“I’ll be a brother soon,” Shiro grinned. “Come on, don’t be such a hardass. It’ll be fun.”

“I have to study,” Lotor hedged.

“Sure,” Shiro said.

“I’m serious,” Lotor said.

“Sure,” Shiro said, side-eyeing him.

“I just- it’s not really my scene,” Lotor tried again.

Shiro laughed. “It’s not your _scene?_ It’s a bunch of people drinking cheap beers in a dirty basement, not some sort of high end s&m club.” He laughed again, looking away. “ _Scene,”_ he muttered quietly. “Listen- do whatever but the invitation stands. You still wanna study this weekend?”

“Sure,” Lotor shrugged. “Let me know. I’m free practically whenever.”

“Which is exactly why you should come out tonight,” Shiro said with a grin. “Maybe you should develop a social life that doesn’t revolve around that roommate of yours.”

“Shut it, Shirogane,” Lotor said indignantly. “I have a perfectly good social life-“

“Yeah, yeah,” Shiro said with a grin, patting him on the back before walking away. “Have fun at lunch with Sendick!” he called out, waving his hand.

Lotor flipped him off except Shiro was already gone. “Whatever,” he muttered as he headed over to the dining hall to meet Sendak.

He walked into the lobby of the building to see Sendak surrounded by a group of admirers, as always. He walked past without looking over, trying to hide his scowl.

He’d already gotten his food and grabbed a seat before Sendak caught up with him, setting his own tray down on the table before sitting across from Lotor.

“Sorry,” he said with a wince. “I didn’t think they’d be here-“

“It’s alright,” Lotor said quietly, picking at his mashed potatoes. He’d put cheese and sour cream and chives on them but that didn’t help how pathetic they looked. Or maybe it was Lotor who was pathetic.

Sendak was a big shot football player with legs for miles and shoulders that would make professional bodybuilders weep. He had honest to god _groupies_ following him around all drooling at the thought of sucking his dick. He could fuck someone new every night and never run out of ass, and Lotor was-

Some loser nerd with a pathetic crush.

He stabbed at the mashed potatoes a little more viciously than he’d intended.

“Easy, baby,” Sendak said, watching him curiously. “What’s wrong? Something got you down? You didn’t forget your essay, did you?”

“No, I didn’t forget,” Lotor said with a small smile. He needed to get a grip. Sendak was his best friend. Groupies or not- Lotor knew Sendak cared about him and would always put him first. “So- movie night?”

“Of course,” Sendak grinned. “I’m thinking- Lilo and Stitch.”

“No,” Lotor said firmly. “Do you want me to cry? Because I’ll cry.”

“What do you wanna watch then?”

“Fight club.”

“Gross,” Sendak said, wrinkling his nose. “Who are you pretending to be cool for? It’s just us. I know what you really wanna watch is Beauty and the Beast.”

“Piss off,” Lotor grumbled.

Sendak laughed and they argued good-naturedly for the rest of lunch, and then it was over and Lotor couldn’t help the pang of longing piecing his heart as he watched Sendak walking away.

He forced himself to pay attention during the rest of his classes and then went to the library to study for a while- anything to pass the time.

He was back in their room by eight, just in time for Sendak to come back from practice, glistening with sweat. He whipped his shirt off as soon as he stepped through the door, as always. Lotor let his eyes slide over his body, drinking Sendak in while he was distracted by washing his face at the sink by the window.

“Where’s dinner?” Sendak asked with a grin.

“I was just waiting for you to get in,” Lotor managed. “I’ll order some pizza.”

“Thanks- I’ll be right back.”

Sendak grabbed his towel and shower caddy before leaving and it took a full three minutes for Lotor to get himself under control enough to call the pizza place without his voice shaking.

Eventually Sendak came back, freshly showered and wearing a pair of soft gray sweatpants and a black tank top so tight it should be illegal.

Lotor could barely pay attention to the movie, and then they finished eating and it got so much worse.

“Come here, baby,” Sendak said, patting his own thigh.

“I’m fine,” Lotor managed from his spot on the floor, leaning his back against Sendak’s bed.

“Come _here,”_ Sendak said, rolling his eyes.

Lotor got to his feet and grabbed the pillow off his bed before lying down beside Sendak with his head resting against Sendak’s thigh. He bit his lip in anticipation, shutting his eyes. He should have been ready for it but he still almost whimpered when he felt Sendak’s hand sinking into his hair, pulling the hair tie out.

“You’ve been so tense lately,” Sendak said. “Is everything ok?”

“Yeah,” Lotor breathed out. The only thing he could focus on was the way Sendak was running his fingers through his hair, slow and gentle. Each brush of blunt nails against his scalp threatened to make him shiver.

“You’d tell me if something was wrong, wouldn’t you?”

“Of course I would,” Lotor said.

“It’s not- it’s not me, is it?”

Lotor sat up a little, looking at Sendak with narrowed eyes. “Why would it be you?”

“I just- you know what they say,” Sendak muttered, staring resolutely at the TV screen. “You shouldn’t- you shouldn’t room with friends. It can ruin-“

“Oh my god,” Lotor snorted out a laugh. “You leaving your sweaty shirts in the sink isn't going to ruin our friendship.”

“I just meant-“

“Jesus, shut _up_ ,” Lotor said, flopping over to lie down with his chest fully over Sendak’s lap.

“Did you forget my name again?” Sendak asked, the tension in his voice gone like it had never been.

“Shut it, darling. Shouldn’t you be practicing for your kinesiology degree?”

“So demanding,” Sendak said with a mock put upon voice.

Lotor really did shiver when Sendak brushed his hair off to the side and set his giant hands to Lotor’s back, massaging firmly. He closed his eyes and buried his face in his arms, the movie nothing more than background noise to Sendak touching him, stroking his back.

One of Sendak’s giant hands made its way up under Lotor’s shirt to rest heavy and warm on his lower back and Lotor couldn’t help a small gasp.

Sendak tensed underneath him and he wanted to slap himself. He’d finally blown it, ruined everything-

“There, huh,” Sendak said quietly, starting to rub him again, so dangerously close to the hem of his jeans. “You could have just asked. You sit too much, it’s hell on your back.”

“Yeah,” Lotor said weakly. “I- thanks.”

His palms were sweating and he was rock hard in his jeans but he just took slow even breaths, trying to force himself to calm down. He was fine. Everything was fine.

Eventually he must have drifted off because the next thing he knew he was flying- except no. He wasn’t flying, he was being carried. Sendak was taking him to bed. He was too tired to be embarrassed as Sendak unzipped his jeans and pulled them off before tucking a blanket around him carefully.

He pretended to still be asleep as Sendak brushed his hair back from his face and leaned down to press a kiss to his forehead.

“Good night,” Sendak whispered and stepped away.

 

 


	2. Chapter 2

 

* * *

 

 

“Your girlfriend’s here,” Throk said with a mean smirk, jerking his head off to the side.

Sendak glanced over towards the fence to see Lotor sitting down in the stands and setting down his bag. He searched through it for a moment before pulling out a giant textbook and sprawling out with the book in his lap. His hair was up in a messy bun, strands escaping to frame his face. His hair was so blond it was practically silver, but now, with the afternoon sunlight behind him, he looked like he was haloed in gold.

“At this rate we should get him some pom poms and one of those tiny skirts,” Throk continued. Sendak knew he was just trying to be an asshole but suddenly he couldn’t help picturing Lotor in a tiny skirt, cheering for him, and his mouth went dry.

“You think he jerks it to the entire team, or just you?” Throk laughed.

“Shut it,” Sendak growled, shoving him in the chest hard enough to send him sprawling to the ground. “You talk a lot of shit for someone who barely made the team.”

As he jogged over to where Lotor was sitting Throk’s words were still rattling around in his brain. As if. As if Lotor would- would- _jerk it_ to Sendak. It was ridiculous, completely insane. As if he’d lie in bed, touching himself in the room they shared. Or- or- in the shower maybe. Maybe he’d lie on his side and push his fingers inside himself-

“Hey,” Lotor said, looking up as Sendak walked over. He was wearing a too-large burgundy sweater and the black jeans with the holes over the knees and thighs, showing way too much skin. Sendak dragged his eyes away. At this rate he was going to have a heart attack.

“Hey,” Sendak said. His voice came out oddly squeaky but Lotor didn’t seem to notice. “What are you doing here?”

“What, you’re kicking me out?” Lotor asked, raising an eyebrow pointedly.

“No,” Sendak said before licking his lips. “Of course not. I just- I thought you had that thing today. Weren’t you studying with what’s his face? Shit-o?”

Lotor snorted out a surprised laugh, his expression going loose and easy. He was so fucking _cute_ Sendak could barely take it.

“ _Shiro,”_ Lotor said. “Oh my god- you know his name, I’ve said it often enough.”

Yeah, too often. Sendak had taken to calling Lotor’s lab partner Shit-o in his head and he had no intention of stopping. It was stupid and petty and he didn’t care one bit.

“That’s not for a few hours,” Lotor continued. “I just thought I’d come hang out for a bit outside with you instead of being cooped up indoors all day.”

“Good idea. Gotta get that D,” Sendak said. Lotor’s eyes widened and a blush bloomed over his cheeks. “ _Vitamin_ D,” Sendak said with a grin. “Gosh, get your mind out of the gutter, baby.”

Lotor rolled his eyes but he was still blushing and it was the prettiest sight Sendak had ever seen.

“The other giants are summoning you,” Lotor said, looking behind him.

Right, practice. That was what Sendak was here for- practice, not ogling Lotor. Sendak blew him a kiss that Lotor pretended to swat away.

“Too slow!” Sendak said before turning and jogging back to his teammates.

He couldn’t help throwing glances Lotor’s way during practice. He’d been studying with Shit-o an awful lot lately, and now again- on a Saturday night?

Was there something going on there? He should be happy for Lotor. He deserved something nice, _someone._ Sendak had no right to be jealous. Just because he’d caught feelings at some point didn’t mean Lotor had to be a monk. But it had been kind of nice while it lasted.

Lotor left eventually and Sendak only felt worse, wondering what he was up to. He couldn’t actually be studying, could he? But if it was a date he could have just said, he didn’t have to pretend.

“Something bothering you?” Haxus asked in the locker room later.

“What?” Sendak said, unceremoniously jerked out of his thoughts.

“You just seem kind of… eh,” Haxus said.

Sendak shrugged as he pulled off his pads.

“I know a way to cheer you up,” Haxus said with a grin, raising his eyebrows suggestively.

“No, I-“ Sendak started before his words caught up with him. No what? No he couldn’t? Why not? Maybe that was exactly what he needed, a bit of fun so he could just stop thinking about Lotor for once. Stop thinking about everything. “Sure,” he said and Haxus grinned.

“Your place, half an hour,” Haxus said before walking out.

“Yeah, ok,” Sendak muttered into the empty room and pulled out his phone to text Lotor. He sent him a picture of a sock on a doorknob before hurrying into the shower.

He was already hard, but not to thoughts of Haxus. But that was fine, it was all going to be fine. He’d just get it out of his system and then he’d be fine.

 

* * *

 

“There’s a party tonight,” Shiro said. “You should come.”

“Wasn’t there a party last night?” Lotor asked, looking up from his physics book. Shiro was watching him oddly and he couldn’t help straightening and brushing a lock of hair out of his eyes, tucking it behind his ear. “Do you have parties every night or something?”

“I mean- kind of, yeah.”

“Thanks for inviting me but I-“

“Oh boy,” Shiro said. “Let me guess, you have to wash your hair.”

Lotor laughed. “No, I-“

“Have to feed your cat? Your sick cat. You have to give it ear drops. Eye drops too. And then you’re rescuing a whole school bus of orphans-“

“I need to study,” Lotor cut him off, still smiling.

“The world is not going to stop turning if you take one night off, you know.”

“I know. I just-“

“Hey,” Shiro said, raising his hands in surrender. “You don’t have to explain it to me. Do what you gotta do. But the invitation still stands.”

“Thanks,” Lotor said. “It’s getting late anyway. I’d better go.”

“I’ll walk you back.”

“I’ll be fine,” Lotor said firmly. “Thanks though.”

“See you,” Shiro said with a small wave.

“Yeah,” Lotor said quietly, making his way out of Shiro's room.

As he walked back to his dorm he wondered what Sendak was up to, if he’d had dinner yet. They could order some food maybe, and then watch a movie or play a game or something. Sendak didn’t party during the football season so they could have a quiet night in.

Maybe he could say his back was sore and Sendak would-

But that was playing with fire. He needed to get it together instead of pushing his luck. If he wasn’t careful Sendak would figure out how Lotor felt about him and then everything would be ruined. Things would get weird between them and Lotor couldn’t risk that. He couldn’t risk losing his best friend.

When he reached his door his phone beeped and he pulled it out to see a message from Shiro- a picture of a very wet, very disgruntled cat. The text under it said-

_Have fun washing your cat_

Lotor smiled at it, and then he noticed there was another unread message, from Sendak. It was from an hour ago, somehow he’d missed it. He pulled it up to see a picture of a sock on a doorknob.

Oh.

Lotor looked up at the door, suddenly feeling cold and alone. Even as he did it he knew he shouldn’t- except he was already pressing his ear to the wood.

For a second there was silence and then he heard a moan and sprang back like he’d been burned. Sendak was in there, in the room they shared, fucking someone else.

It shouldn’t have been a surprise. Lotor knew Sendak slept around, hooked up. But he’d never done it here, never even mentioned it really, not until long after. And now- now Lotor would have to sleep in that room knowing- knowing-

He felt sick as he took a step backwards and then another, until his back was pressed against the wall and he was still staring at the _door._

He was such an idiot, such a pathetic moron. He’d known- he’d _known_ all along that Sendak didn’t feel the same way he did, but suddenly he realized he'd been holding out hope anyway. He'd been hoping that maybe- maybe Sendak wanted him too.

But now it was real and he couldn't lie to himself anymore. Sendak was fucking someone in their room, someone that wasn't Lotor.

Somewhere deep down, in the most pathetic and perverted part of himself, Lotor wanted to press his ear to the door again. He wanted to hear what Sendak sounded like, wanted to take what piece he could for himself.

Most of all he wanted to cry, he wanted to hurl. He wanted to not _feel_ this way anymore. He had no right to be so upset, to feel like something had been taken from him. Sendak wasn’t his- never had been and never would be.

He turned and started walking just so he wouldn't do something stupid, like cry in the hall like a total loser. It was dark outside, pleasantly warm except for the cool breeze that cut right through his sweater.

He wandered aimlessly, not sure what to do now. The dining halls were closed, so was the library. Everyone he passed seemed to be in a fantastic mood- drunk or on their way there. Somehow Lotor's feet carried him to the rowdiest part of campus- frat row.

How had this happened? Lotor wasn't entirely sure. And yet here he was- staring up at a row house with a few drunk students playing corn hole out front. The sign read Beta Lambda Pi- Shiro's frat.

He took a deep breath to steel himself and walked inside.

The sound was overwhelming, and then came the smell- sweat and liquor, harsh deodorant and cigarettes and something else, a sharp smell kind of like skunk. Lotor didn't know anyone and had no idea what to do with himself. He felt awkward and afraid, more alone now with all these people around than he'd felt walking through campus by himself.

This had been a mistake. He needed to just _go._

Except he had nowhere to go, nowhere except back to his dorm so he could- what? Wait for Sendak to finish? Wait for whoever Sendak was fucking to leave?

No. No way. He didn't want to be there, he didn't want to know who Sendak was with. The party was awful but it was better than the alternative.

Everyone around him had solo cups and he figured that was a good enough place to start. He looked around, wondering where-

“Lotor!”

Lotor turned to see Shiro coming towards him with a smile. He smiled back weakly, suddenly flooded with relief.

“You made it,” Shiro said, wrapping an arm around his shoulders.

“Yeah,” Lotor said. “Finished washing the cat a little sooner than I thought.”

Shiro laughed easily. “Well come on then, let's get you a drink.”

He led Lotor into the kitchen. There was a giant cooler on the counter next to a stack of cups and Lotor reached for it only for Shiro to pull him back.

“Don’t even think about touching that shitty gin bucket, you're drinking the good stuff. What do you want? Liquor? Beer?”

“Beer is good,” Lotor said decisively, even though he had no idea if it was or wasn’t. The entirety of his experience with drinking was limited to Christmas two years ago, when he and Sendak had snuck a bottle of wine out of Zarkon’s liquor cabinet.

Lotor tried to shove the memory away. He didn't need to be thinking about that night, not now and not ever again. He didn't need to be thinking about how he and Sendak had sat slumped together on Lotor's bed so they could pass the bottle back and forth, how Lotor had whispered that he'd never been kissed and was afraid he never would be. Sendak had laughed and leaned closer, his body so hot through their clothes where they were pressed together.

“I can fix that if you want. It's not a big deal,” he'd said, smiling easily. His cheeks had been flushed from the wine, his eyes glittering in the soft glow of the Christmas lights strung up around the edges of the ceiling. When Lotor had screwed up the courage to nod he'd put his hand on Lotor's cheek and-

“Good call,” Shiro said, jerking Lotor out of his thoughts. For a moment he was confused but then Shiro pulled a glass bottle of beer out of the fridge and opened it on the edge of the counter before handing it over.

Lotor tried to force himself back into the present as he took a careful sip, not sure what he was tasting. It wasn't exactly pleasant but it wasn't terrible, either.

“You hate it,” Shiro said, watching closely. “I can get you something else-”

“It's fine,” Lotor said with a laugh.

“Yeah?” Shiro's smile was so warm that Lotor couldn't help smiling back at him. “Come on,” Shiro said. “I'll show you around.”

He kept his arm around Lotor's shoulders as he introduced him to his friends- Matt and Keith, Pidge and Hunk. He dragged Lotor over to play beer pong, and quarters, and flip cup. It was his first time playing and he was terrible but Shiro just laughed, having way too much fun for someone on a losing team.

By the time Lotor was on his third beer he was feeling warm and loose, _good._ Shiro stayed by his side and they even danced a little. For once Lotor wasn't afraid of making a fool of himself.

Afterwards Shiro took him upstairs and showed him how to climb out the window so they could sit on the roof, holding his hand the whole time so he wouldn't fall.

When Lotor shivered Shiro wrapped his arm around him and they looked up at the stars, bright in the night sky.

The moment was broken by the chiming of Lotor's phone and he frowned.

“Aren't you gonna get that?” Shiro asked.

“No,” Lotor muttered. There was only one person it could be and he didn't want to think about Sendak for once.

“Did you and Sendick have a fight or something?”

“No,” Lotor said.

“Sure,” Shiro said easily. “But you told him you were going out tonight, right? So he's not out there wondering why his studious roomie missed his bedtime?”

“He's not my nanny,” Lotor said with a scowl. “I don't- I don't have to _report_ to him.”

“Sure,” Shiro said and reached over to slip Lotor's phone out of his pocket. He opened the messages and scrolled though for a bit before typing something and hitting send. “There you go,” Shiro said, handing the phone back with a smile. “You still feeling ok? You wanna dance some more? Or play another round of-”

“I want another beer.”

“Sure,” Shiro said and offered Lotor his hand. “Let's go.”

  

* * *

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Image by skaiahart - originally posted [HERE.](https://skaiahart.tumblr.com/post/184426605765/barbitone-s-au-is-so-good?is_highlighted_post=1)  
> Please reblog, don't repost!
> 
> Next time, on Stupid Boys Being Stupid:
> 
> “So,” the guy said, looking Sendak up and down. “I guess you’re Sendick.”
> 
> Sendak narrowed his eyes. “You must be Shit-o.” The guy wasn’t what he was expecting at all. He’d thought Shit-o was some pale science nerd but instead he was six feet of beef that wouldn’t look out of place on the football team. He was smaller than Sendak, but still…
> 
> “Must be,” Shit-o said.


	3. Chapter 3

 

* * *

 

 

Sendak was going crazy. He'd gotten Haxus out of the room by ten and texted Lotor the all clear only to get- nothing. No call, no text, nothing at all. He managed to convince himself everything was fine for half an hour or so, and then he texted him again, and again.

He felt like an asshole but he couldn't stop himself from sending increasingly desperate messages. Lotor never stayed out this late, never took this long to answer his texts. Sendak was on the verge of going out to look for him, was even considering calling the police-

And then at 11:38 pm he got a message from Lotor's phone that read-

_everything's cool- he's with me  
_ _-shiro_

Sendak scowled as he stared at the screen, gripping his phone tightly. What the fuck. Why was Shit-o texting him instead of Lotor? What was going on? He was angry and worried and suspicious but what the hell was he supposed to do?

Lotor could make his own decisions, and clearly he trusted his little lab buddy. It was still infuriating. Anything could be happening, he could be hurt, or-

And why didn't he just text back?

Sendak was startled by a knock on the door and looked over with a frown. It was past one in the morning, who the hell-

He threw the door open to see some guy he didn’t know. He was holding Lotor in his arms bridal style. For a second Sendak saw red, except Lotor didn’t seem hurt, he had his arms wrapped tightly around the guy’s neck and his face pressed to his shoulder. As Sendak watched, Lotor made a pleased little sound and snuggled closer.

“So,” the guy said, looking Sendak up and down. “I guess you’re Sendick.”

Sendak narrowed his eyes. “You must be Shit-o.” The guy wasn’t what he was expecting at all. He’d thought Shit-o was some pale science nerd but instead he was six feet of beef that wouldn’t look out of place on the football team. He was smaller than Sendak, but still…

“Must be,” Shit-o said. “So. Can I come in?”

Sendak stepped back to let Shit-o past. Lotor looked up and when he saw Sendak he smiled.

“Sendak! I’m drunk.”

“Yeah you are, buddy,” Shit-o said. “Which bed is his?”

Sendak froze. Shit-o didn’t know which bed was Lotor’s. That meant they hadn’t, at least not in here-

“Yo,” Shit-o said, after Sendak had stayed silent too long.

“That one,” Sendak said, pointing.

“It’s time to get down now,” Shit-o said gently to Lotor, his expression going soft and fond. That fucker. Sendak gritted his teeth so he wouldn't say something he'd regret.

“No,” Lotor muttered. “I don’t wanna get down. I want Sendak.”

Sendak looked up, meeting Shit-o’s eyes. Shit-o shrugged a little and raised his eyebrows pointedly, as if saying _well?_

“I’m here, baby.” Sendak moved closer and slipped his arm under Lotor’s knees and shoulders to take his weight while Lotor sighed and moved to wrap his arms around Sendak’s neck, letting go of Shit-o at last. “Are you feeling ok?”

“I’m great,” Lotor sighed as Sendak lowered him to his bed. “I’m drunk. I'm drunk and I love you.”

Sendak froze before forcing himself to move. “I love you too,” he said. They’d said it to each other plenty of times before, he knew Lotor didn’t mean it like _that._ Stupid Shit-o was still there, just standing there watching as Sendak unwrapped Lotor’s arms from around his neck and helped him lie down.

“Mmm,” Lotor hummed. “Pillow… I love you. And bed- everything is love.”

“Yeah,” Sendak said awkwardly, patting Lotor on the back. “How much did he have to drink?”

“Like four beers,” Shit-o said with a laugh.

Sendak frowned. That wasn’t enough for Lotor to be so fucked up, was it? He looked at Shit-o with suspicion again. But if he’d drugged him, why did he bring him home? Lotor didn’t seem… _hurt,_ or upset. His clothes and hair weren’t mussed…

“Is that all you had, baby?”

“Yeah,” Lotor sighed. “But I- skipped dinner.”

“You- what? You should eat!”

“Mmm, sleepy,” Lotor muttered, pushing his face into his pillow.

“Ok,” Sendak said shakily. “Let’s just- I’ll get your boots off and-“

“Want Shiro to do it.”

“Shiro has to go,” Sendak said, glaring pointedly at the guy still standing there. “I’ve got you-“

“I want Shiro!”

“Sure,” Shit-o said, stepping forward to kneel by the bed so he could unlace Lotor’s boots and pull them off. “There you go.”

“You’re the best,” Lotor muttered and Sendak tightened his hands into fists, trying to keep his jealousy under control.

“Make sure he drinks some water,” Shit-o said as he rose to his feet.

“I’ve got it from here,” Sendak growled, standing too. He walked to the door, Shit-o following.

“Good to meet you, I guess,” Shit-o said.

“Whatever,” Sendak said. “If I you hurt him I’m going to rip you in half.”

Shit-o raised his eyebrows coolly, completely unfazed by the threat. “Same to you, Sen _dick.”_

“Fuck you,” Sendak hissed, poking him hard in the chest. “I would _never-“_

“Sure you already haven’t?”

Sendak couldn’t help gaping at Shit-o in shock. “What the hell is that supposed to mean? Did he say something?”

“No,” Shit-o said with a shrug. “But he seemed upset about something. And he wasn’t too excited about talking to you, so I put two and two together.”

“I- I- I didn’t-“ Sendak sputtered.

“Whatever, man,” Shit-o said. He was so goddamn nonchalant about it all that Sendak wanted to slap him just to get a rise out of him. “I’m sure I’ll see you around.”

And then he _smirked,_ somehow making the statement ominous.

“Later, Sendick,” he said with a jaunty wave.

“Fuck you too,” Sendak muttered before going back inside.

 

* * *

 

Lotor slept like the dead while Sendak tossed and turned, troubled by dreams featuring a confused tangle of limbs, Lotor moaning as he kissed someone else while Sendak could only watch, trapped behind glass or under water. Lotor had his back to him and there was a pair of powerful arms wrapping around his waist, sliding down to his ass.

Shiro was holding him, _smirking_ at Sendak over Lotor's shoulder-

Sendak jerked awake, pissed off already and it wasn't even eight in the morning. He turned his head to see Lotor sleeping across the room. There was a faint frown over his lips and a small crease between his eyebrows. Sendak wanted to reach out and smooth it away.

Since when did Lotor party? Fucking- _Shit-o._ Maybe he was right. Maybe Sendak had fucked up somehow and Lotor really was upset with him. He scowled and forced himself to look away, not sure what to do with himself.

Lotor groaned and shifted, wrinkling his nose as he slowly opened his eyes.

“Hey,” Sendak said as he got up and walked over, kneeling so he could brush Lotor's hair out of his face. “How are you feeling, baby?”

“Awful,” Lotor groaned, burying his face in the pillow. “Is this what a hangover is like?”

“Yeah,” Sendak said, smiling despite himself. “You remember what happened last night?”

“Yes,” Lotor said.

“Did you-” Sendak started before biting his lip. He couldn't exactly ask if Lotor fucked Shit-o, could he. “Did you have fun?”

“At the time, but now I'm not sure it was worth it.”

“It doesn't help you skipped dinner. You should really eat something.”

“Ugh,” Lotor groaned. “I- I think I'm gonna hurl.”

“Come on,” Sendak said, helping him sit up and hustling him out to the hall bathroom. They barely made it into a stall before Lotor dropped to his knees and threw up in the toilet.

Sendak pulled his hair back for him hurriedly, rubbing his back with his other hand.

“Oh fuck,” Lotor whimpered.

“It's ok, baby,” Sendak said. “Let it all out, you'll feel better after.”

Lotor threw up again while Sendak kept rubbing his back. Finally he reached out to flush the toilet, spitting into the bowl.

“You're done?” Sendak asked.

“Not sure,” Lotor said with a wince.

“Ok, just-” Sendak reached into the pocket of Lotor's jeans, fishing around until he found one of the extra hair ties he always kept with him. “Why don't you stay here for a bit till you're sure,” Sendak said, tying his hair back carefully. “I'll get you some water and be right back.”

He went back to their room to grab a cup and, after a moment's thought, Lotor's towel and shower caddy too.

He returned to the bathroom to see some guy he vaguely knew about to climb into the third shower stall, Lotor's favorite.

“Piss off,” he growled, “that one’s taken.”

The guy looked like he was about to argue but whatever he saw in Sendak’s eyes had him backing off. Sendak put Lotor's towel on the hook and his shower stuff inside before filling the cup with water and heading back into the bathroom stall.

“Here, baby,” he said, handing over the cup.

“Thanks,” Lotor said as he took it. He rinsed his mouth out a few times before flushing the toilet again and actually drinking.

“Feeling better?”

“A little,” Lotor managed, but he still sounded shaky.

“You'll feel better after you brush your teeth and shower- you feel up to it?”

“Yeah,” Lotor said. “Sorry. Sorry if I-”

“Hey, it happens,” Sendak cut him off. “All that matters is that you're ok.”

“Thanks.”

“Come on, come on up,” Sendak said, helping him up.

“I need to get-”

“I got your stuff. Just go ahead and shower.”

“Thanks,” Lotor said with a weak smile.

“You got it from here?”

Lotor nodded and Sendak forced himself to go back to their room. He changed out of his pajamas and put on some real clothes while he waited for Lotor to get back.

He tried not to look when Lotor shuffled in with a towel around his hips and the rest of his stuff clutched to his chest. Pretending to busy himself at his desk, Sendak waited until the rustling of cloth behind him was finished.

When he finally let himself look he saw Lotor was wearing a pair of black leggings and an oversized t-shirt that threatened to slide down one shoulder. Sendak couldn't look away, captivated by Lotor's collarbones, by his damp messy hair.

“Take this,” Sendak said, offering him an aspirin and a fresh glass of water. “Feeling better?”

“Yeah,” Lotor said with a weak smile. “Thanks. Did I-?” he broke off with a wince, pausing to take the pill.

“Did you what?”

“Did I… do anything I should apologize for?”

Sendak smiled and grabbed a comb off Lotor's desk before sitting beside him on the bed. “Nah,” he said as he started carefully combing Lotor's hair into submission, warmth filling him when Lotor leaned into his touch. Suck on that, Shit-o.

“Did I?” Sendak asked carefully.

Lotor tensed up a little like a tiny flinch, so small that Sendak wouldn't have noticed if he hadn't been sitting so close.

“No,” Lotor said, “of course not.”

Somehow Sendak didn't believe him. He wasn't used to that, Lotor lying to him. He licked his suddenly dry lips, not sure what to do from here. Maybe if he called Lotor out he'd-

But he knew better. Lotor would only double down, if there was even anything to double down on. Maybe he was just reading too much into it all, letting Shit-o get into his head. Sendak frowned as he pictured his clear gray eyes, the way his full lips had curled up as he smirked.

No, he wasn't going to think about Shit-o while he had Lotor sitting beside him, Lotor's hair spilling through his fingers like silk.

“You should finish that water,” he said instead of all the things that were running through his mind. “I'll go get you something to eat-”

“Oh god,” Lotor interrupted. “Please no. I can't- I really can't. I think I'm just gonna go back to sleep.”

“Ok, well I'll be here when you wake up.”

“I'm hungover, not _crippled,”_ Lotor said with a laugh that sounded forced. “And you have that group project thing, don't you? You have to go soon.”

“I can just skip-”

“No, come on,” Lotor chided. “I'll be fine, I promise.”

“Alright,” Sendak relented, setting the comb aside to loosely braid Lotor's damp hair. “Get some sleep then.”

“Thanks,” Lotor said, looking over at him. “Darling,” he added with a smile, nudging Sendak in the shoulder.

Sendak couldn't help leaning in to press a kiss to Lotor's cheek. It was their morning ritual, wasn't it? It was morning. It wasn't suspicious, Sendak was being normal and not suspicious at all.

He stood to let Lotor lie back down and pretended to do homework while watching Lotor sleep. Eventually he had to go off to breakfast and his study group, and on the way back he stopped by the Caf to get some lunch for the both of them.

When he returned to the room he heard laughter inside and his heart sank. He opened the door to see Shit-o, of course. He was sitting on Lotor's bed with Lotor’s bare feet in his lap, rubbing them absently as he told some story with a wide smile over his stupid handsome face. Lotor was smiling too, lying down with his physics book laying open over his chest. His shirt was riding up, revealing a tantalizing strip of bare skin and Sendak was suddenly angry that Shit-o was here, seeing Lotor like this.

There were empty sandwich wrappers on Lotor's desk and a paper cup of coffee on the floor by Lotor's bed and he was angry about that too, that Shit-o had gotten him to eat first.

“Hey, man,” Shit-o said casually when he saw Sendak standing in the doorway. He gave him a little wave like he wasn't single handedly ruining Sendak's life.

“Sendak!” Lotor said, chipper again. “Hey- have you met Shiro?”

“Who do you think helped me wrestle you into bed last night?” Shiro asked, looking back at Lotor as he ran his fingers playfully over Lotor's toes, making him laugh. Sendak could only watch with narrowed eyes as Lotor tried to pull his foot back, stopped by Shit-o’s giant hand wrapped around his ankle.

“You wanted to dance the night away, it took both of us to put you down, buddy.”

“Bullshit!” Lotor laughed.

Shit-o was saying something else but Sendak couldn't make it out through the static filling his ears. What the fuck. Since when were they this close? This casual?

Lotor was laughing again, and then they were both looking over at him and he snapped out of his thoughts with a start. “What?” he managed.

“We should hang out,” Lotor said. “Have dinner tonight.”

Somehow Sendak knew Lotor meant all three of them. No. Fuck that. His mind raced as he tried to come up with some reason he didn't want Shit-o around that wasn't _‘I hate his face’_ or _‘I'm the only one who should get to touch you like that.’_

“I actually have to head out,” Shit-o said before standing, saving Sendak from answering. “But I'm down to hang. Maybe the three of us can have lunch tomorrow?”

“I'm busy,” Sendak said stiffly.

“Ah, that's a shame,” Shit-o said with a shrug. “Guess it'll just be me and Lotor then.”

Sendak’s mouth dropped open in shock. Shit-o had just stolen his and Lotor's standing lunch date. Bastard.

“See you around,” Shit-o said with a wink as he walked past him and out of the room.

Well,  _fuck._

 

 


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The idiot parade gets a new member. Welcome.... LANCE!

 

* * *

 

Shit-o started hanging around more and Sendak hated it, and him, and everything. And- and- he wasn’t jealous, he was _worried._ Shit-o was a bad influence, taking Lotor out to parties, and keeping him up late, and-

And sure, it wasn’t like Lotor’s grades were slipping or anything. And he didn’t come home drunk again after that first night. Since then he always made sure to eat before going out and he only had one or two beers and Shit-o always walked him home. Probably so he could rub the whole thing in Sendak’s face. That fucker.

But that didn’t mean Shit-o wasn’t bad news. Sendak wasn’t an idiot, he knew how guys like that- _frat guys-_ operated. He was trying to get Lotor’s guard down so he could- get him drunk, or high, and then move in on him and take advantage-

“Are you even paying attention?”

Sendak looked down at the girl who was sucking his dick. Or at least, she had been. Now she was glaring at him.

“What?”

“Unbelievable,” she said, standing up and pulling her shirt back on. “You’re such an asshole!”

“I- sorry,” he said half-heartedly. “Sorry-” shit, what was her name again? “Sorry, Linda.”

 _“Ladnok,”_ she hissed. “Lose my number, fuck-face.” She stormed out and Sendak let his head drop back to his pillow with a heavy sigh. He grabbed his phone to check the time- 10:13 pm. Lotor probably wouldn’t be back from Beta Lambda Pi for at least two hours.

At least without Linda around to distract him he could have a decent jerk-off session. He wrapped his hand around his dick as he thought about Lotor, his ass in the black jeans with the holes down the thighs, the way his shirt rode up when he reached up to get his books from the top of his desk caddy, the way his fingers looked, absently stroking the pages of his textbook as he read.

Sendak sighed and closed his eyes, imagining what it would feel like if Lotor touched him like that, how warm his hands would be, how soft his lips would be-

He smiled a little as he thought about it. That part, at least, he didn’t have to imagine. He knew exactly what Lotor’s lips felt like. He knew Lotor probably didn’t remember, but that night two years ago was one of Sendak’s most treasured memories. He still didn’t believe he’d had the courage to offer to kiss Lotor- that Lotor had _agreed._

Sendak imagined what it would have been like to have gone further- pushing Lotor down into the sheets, sliding his hands up under his shirt. He wondered if Lotor still kissed the same, shy and uncertain, or if he’d be confident now. Maybe he’d had practice-

And now he was picturing Lotor kissing Shit-o despite himself, Shit-o sliding his strong arms around his waist and saying-

 _“Guess it'll just be me and Lotor then,”_ and _smirking_ at him, narrowing his clear gray eyes-

“Mother _fucker,”_ Sendak hissed, pulling his hand away and stuffing his dick back into his jeans.

Fucking- Shit-o.

First he was butting into Sendak’s life and now he was inside his head.

Clearly he wasn’t getting off now or any time soon. He wanted to scream, he wanted to hit something, he wanted to march down to Beta Lambda Pi and drag Lotor home, where he belonged. Obviously he couldn’t do any of those things so he changed into shorts and a tank top and headed to the gym.

 

* * *

 

“What did you get for question four?” Lotor asked, peering over at Shiro’s notebook.

“A mess,” Shiro said with a self-deprecating laugh, sliding his worksheet over.

“Ugh, same,” Lotor muttered, glancing between Shiro’s work and his own. “I think if we-”

He was interrupted by Shiro’s ringtone and Shiro smiled apologetically as he checked his phone. “I gotta take this, it’s my grandma. I’ll be right back.” He stood and went to the door, bringing the phone up to his ear as he left.

Lotor sighed heavily and tapped his book with his pen as he tried to figure out where he’d gone wrong with the problem.

“You’ve got it bad, huh.”

Lotor startled, looking over at where Shiro’s roommate, Lance, was sitting on his bed, watching him consideringly.

“What?”

Lance rolled his eyes, setting aside his own book. “Please, I know a crush when I see one.”

“I- I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Lotor said defensively. His cheeks felt hot and he couldn’t help rubbing at his face, trying to will the blush away. How could Lance know about his feelings for Sendak? They’d never even met. Maybe Shiro had noticed though, said something-

“Why don’t you do something about it?” Lance asked. “I’m pretty sure he likes you back.”

“How would you know?” Lotor demanded. Did Lance know Sendak somehow? If he did, he’d know Sendak was sleeping with most of the cheerleaders and half the football team, not waiting for Lotor or showing any other signs of being interested.

“I have _eyes,_ my dude,” Lance said. “I think he’s just waiting for you to make the first move. He probably doesn't want to push his luck.”

“You think so?” Lotor asked, his heart speeding up a little. He felt hope blooming in his chest and tried to stamp it down.

“Yeah,” Lance said. “It can’t hurt to try, anyway. Make a move, show him you’re interested, see what happens.”

Lotor sighed sharply. Lance was an idiot. It could _definitely_ hurt to try. It could ruin everything. But-

“How- how would I do that?” he asked uncertainly.

“Easy- wear something slutty, strut around. What dude can resist a thong, anyway?”

“Oh my god,” Lotor said, burying his face in his hands. He’d been right. Lance was a total idiot.

“What?” Lance asked. “It’s foolproof, I’m telling you. You’ve got a nice ass, show it off a little.”

“That’s- that’s not really my style,” Lotor said, his voice coming out strangled.

“Then you’re lucky Halloween’s next friday. Everyone’s gonna be dressed like slutty this or slutty that, it won’t be weird. And it’s BLP’s biggest party of the year, too. It’s the perfect opportunity to get _someone’s_ attention, if you know what I mean.”

“I don’t know,” Lotor said. Could he even get Sendak to come out to Beta Lambda Pi? He didn’t seem to like Shiro very much, not to mention he had a game that weekend. But if there was a chance it could work… he had to take it, didn’t he?

“Trust me,” Lance said with a leer. “It’ll work. He’s got the hots for you, I know it.”

Lotor was pretty sure Lance didn’t know anything.

“Hey,” Lance said when Shiro came back. “Everything cool?”

“Yeah, everything’s fine,” Shiro said, glancing suspiciously between Lance’s smirk and Lotor’s blush. “Uh. Did I miss something?”

“Nope,” Lance said, standing up and gathering his stuff. “I’m heading out anyway. Wouldn’t want to be a third wheel, amirite?” He waggled his eyebrows at Shiro, who suddenly looked a little tense.

 _“Lance,”_ he said firmly.

“See ya!” Lance waved before leaving and Lotor frowned as he turned back to his textbook.

“Uh, he didn’t- he didn’t say anything weird, did he?” Shiro asked as he came back to sit down at the desk.

“Nothing weirder than usual.”

“Ok,” Shiro said with a laugh, the tension fading from his shoulders. “Ok then. That’s good.”

“BLP is throwing a Halloween party, right?” Lotor asked, still trying to wrap his head around what Lance had said.

“Yeah,” Shiro said with a grin. “You’re coming?”

“I- yeah,” Lotor said. “Is it- is it cool if I bring a friend? I wanted to invite Sendak.”

“Oh,” Shiro said, his smile fading. He turned away, looking down at his book. “Oh. Well. I mean- it’s a party. Everyone’s welcome.”

“Cool, thanks,” Lotor said, nudging him lightly in the side with his elbow. “Anyway- I think I figured out where we went wrong. Here-” he said, pointing.

“Oh, yeah,” Shiro said with a small laugh. “Yeah, I see it now. Pretty dumb mistake huh.”

“Well, we both made it. So I guess we’re both dumb.”

“Guess so,” Shiro said quietly.

Lotor couldn’t help but be distracted for the rest of the study session, thinking about what he’d do, what he’d wear. Was it a totally stupid plan? He wasn’t sure. The only thing he was sure about was that he needed help.

 

* * *

* * *

 

Half an hour into his shopping trip with Ezor Lotor was starting to regret this plan, his life, _everything._

“How about this one?” Ezor asked, holding up a tank top made of see-through mesh fabric and weird leather straps like some sort of harness. She was holding a leather collar in her other hand, staring at him with a raised eyebrow.

“Oh my god,” Lotor muttered, burying his face in his hands. “I asked you to help me, not traumatize me for life! What even is that? What costume is that supposed to be?”

“I don’t think you understand how this works,” Ezor said, talking slowly like he was an idiot. “First, you dress slutty. Then you slap a pair of cat ears on top and boom- you’re a slutty cat.”

“Isn’t that kind of… cheap?”

“It’s supposed to be cheap. Now put on the shirt, and the pants too.”

“There’s no way I’ll fit into those pants,” Lotor said, eyeing the bundle of leather Ezor had shoved into his hands earlier.

“Don’t be such a baby,” Ezor said, pushing him towards the changing rooms. “Go get dressed.”

“Fine,” Lotor said with a sigh.

The pants turned out to be stretchy, so that was alright at least. The tank top was impossible until he found the hidden zipper on the side and finally managed to get himself into it. He blushed as he stared into the mirror. He couldn’t go out like this.

The pants were so tight he could practically see the outline of his dick through them, and the shirt was just- just _wrong._ It was only due to the strategically placed leather straps over the chest that his nipples weren’t totally out. But his entire stomach was just- on display, not to mention his back. He turned to get a glimpse of his butt. This was- this was terrible.

“Nice!” Ezor said, pushing past the curtain into the stall with him.

“Oh my god,” Lotor hissed. “You can’t just-”

“You forgot the collar,” Ezor said, shoving it towards him.

“I’m not wearing a collar,” Lotor said. “It’s just-”

“Come _on,”_ Ezor said, coming towards him. “Be a good kitty!”

They tousled for a while- why was she so freaking strong?- and by the end of it she shoved him around to look at himself in the mirror. “Oh yeah,” she said with a grin, setting a headband with attached cat ears on his head. “Aww,” she said, wrapping her arms around him from behind and leaning her head against his. “Look at you, kitty cat.”

“This is- this is so inappropriate,” Lotor managed, shifting awkwardly.

“That’s kind of the whole point. You look sexy, though.”

“I do?” Lotor asked, raising his hand to touch the collar.

“We can put your hair up, maybe do a little mascara, some eyeliner-”

“I’m not wearing makeup.”

“You’re not wearing underwear, either.”

“What-”

“Look!” Ezor said, pointing at his thigh where the edge of his boxer briefs was showing through the flimsy fabric of the pants. “Panty lines. No undies on friday, I’m serious.”

“I’m not _buying_ this,” Lotor hissed.

“Yeah you are,” she grinned. “Now come on, let’s see if we can find you a coat or something so you don’t freeze your cute little heiney off on the walk to the frat.”

“I have coats,” Lotor grumbled as he pulled off the cat-ear headband.

“Not sexy coats. Come on, I’ll take care of you, kitty cat. It’s going to be great!”

Lotor seriously doubted that, but he changed back into his own clothes and let Ezor drag him around until they found some sort of fluffy coat that she said would go with the outfit. He was still unsure even as he pulled out his credit card at the register. He could hardly believe he was about to spend actual money on these so-called clothes.

“Eyes on the prize,” Ezor said firmly. “Operation ‘Catch Lotor a Boyfriend’ is officially a go.”

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Image originally posted [HERE](https://barbitone.tumblr.com/post/186851068000/ko-fi-society6-commission-prices-vary-ask) \- pls reblog, don't repost


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note- there is some casual drug use (weed) in this chapter. Very minor, but figured I'd mention ;) Tags have been updated

 

* * *

 

“Hey,” Sendak said, looking up from his book when Lotor walked in carrying a shopping bag.

“Hey,” Lotor said. He seemed a little shifty and Sendak narrowed his eyes suspiciously.

“What’s that?” he asked, pointing to the bag.

“Nothing,” Lotor said in a strangled tone of voice that definitely meant it was something.

“Oh really,” Sendak said, getting to his feet and snatching the bag away before Lotor could react.

“Hey!” Lotor cried out, blushing furiously as he tried to take it back.

Sendak laughed and held it up out of his reach before shoving his hand inside and grabbing the first thing he could. He pulled out-

_A collar?_

Sendak stared wide-eyed at the band of red leather. It had a silver buckle and a metal ring to latch a leash to and it was definitely. Human sized.

“Give it back!”

Sendak ignored him, pulling out the next item- some kind of mesh shirt with an intricate arrangement of leather straps over the chest like a harness. It was in Lotor’s size and Sendak felt faint. “What- what the-”

“Sendak!” Lotor cried out, blushing so hard he looked like a tomato.

“You, uh… you going to an s&m club, baby?”

“It’s my Halloween costume,” Lotor hissed, finally taking back the bag and the collar, along with the shirt.

“Where’s the rest of it?”

“There’s- there’s pants,” Lotor said, stuffing the bag into the back of his closet. “And a coat.”

“What are you supposed to be, then? Some kind of… dominatrix?”

“I- I’m a-”

“What?” Sendak asked, staring while Lotor refused to meet his eyes.

“I’m a… cat.”

“Sorry?”

“I’m a cat!” Lotor bit out. “There’s- there’s cat ears and everything.”

“Right.” Sendak’s brain short circuited as he pictured Lotor in cat ears and the collar and the shirt. If it could be called a shirt. What kind of pants would he even wear with something like that? Fishnet stockings and booty shorts? Some kind of leather contraption made out of straps, and-

“Wait a minute,” Sendak managed as his brain caught up with him. “You- you’re going _out_ in that? Where?”

“You know where,” Lotor said, looking away. “The BLP Halloween party. I told you about it yesterday, remember? You said you’d think about going with me.”

“Right.” Well fuck. Lotor was- was trying to seduce Shit-o wasn’t he. Why else would he dress like- _that._ He’d be wandering around that dirty frat with everyone drooling after him and Sendak would be sitting at home alone-

Wait. Lotor had invited him, hadn’t he? He could just. Go. He could go with him, and just. Keep an eye on him. To make sure nothing bad happened. Obviously he wouldn’t _interfere_ if Lotor was ok, but he could- go. And make sure everything went fine. And see him in that outfit. But mostly he’d be making sure Lotor was safe, obviously.

“Well. I’m- I’m definitely going.”

“Really?” Lotor asked, smiling widely. “You didn’t seem that excited about it yesterday.”

“Well I- I had to check my practice schedule. But it’s all worked out now. I’ll be there. What time does it start?”

“You know,” Lotor said, waving his hand dismissively. “Whenever. I’m going over to Ezor and Zethrid’s around nine so they can help me with my hair and stuff, but I can meet you there around ten?”

“Sure,” Sendak said. Oh god this was a terrible idea. What the hell was he doing? “Yeah, I’ll meet you there at ten.”

 

* * *

 

Sendak’s palms were sweating as he stepped up to the frat house. The front porch was decorated with jack-o-lanterns carved with surprisingly intricate designs- witches and ghosts, vampires and other monsters. Orange and purple string lights hung from the edge of the roof and continued inside, strung up over the ceiling. There were candles in jars burning on strategic ledges and shelves around the living room, far enough out of the way that they wouldn’t get accidentally knocked over by some careless drunk.

The air smelled of liquor and pumpkin spice, woodsmoke and weed. It was surprisingly pleasant for a frat house. The floor wasn’t even sticky. At least- not yet.

Sendak looked around at all the students in costumes, drinking and talking to each other, having fun. He couldn’t help feeling a little awkward, like he didn’t belong here. He hadn’t been to a party since high school. He’d _never_ been to a party with Lotor, and now he was here in what amounted to enemy territory with the knowledge that Lotor was about to show up looking like-

A ‘cat.’ With cat ears and everything.

“You look like you’re about to pass out,” Haxus said. “Lighten up. It’s a party, it’s supposed to be fun.”

“I’m having fun,” Sendak muttered as he went over to the punch bowl and filled solo cups for the both of them, glad he’d brought Haxus, at least, for backup.

When he turned he practically ran into Shit-o. He was wearing plastic armor and a furry rug draped over his shoulders. Maybe it was supposed to be a cape. His arms were bare and rippling with muscle, so were his thighs under some sort of fringed skirt thing. He was wearing sandals. It was practically winter outside and this fucker was walking around in sandals and a leather mini skirt, flaunting the sort of physique that shouldn’t have been possible for some bro that probably sat around drinking all day. Sendak wanted to grab him and just- just- throttle him.

“Oh. You came,” Shit-o said.

“Lotor invited me,” Sendak said, narrowing his eyes. “So yeah. I came. Why? Is that a problem?”

Shit-o frowned. “No. Of course not.”

“What are you supposed to be?”

“I’m a gladiator,” Shit-o said. “I see you’re… a football player. Great costume, man.”

“We don’t all have time to be going around playing dress up,” Sendak muttered.

Shit-o looked like he was about to say something else but then his eyes widened and his mouth fell open. Sendak turned to see what he was staring at and immediately had the exact same reaction.

Lotor was here.

He was dressed in the weird skimpy top that was totally see through, his chest crisscrossed by an elaborate arrangement of leather straps that just barely covered his nipples. He was wearing some sort of leather leggings too, so tight they should have been illegal, and a fluffy white coat over it all that looked impossibly soft. And of course- the cat ears.

 _“Holy shit,”_ Sendak and Shit-o whispered in unison only startle and turn to glare at each other. Lotor noticed them and waved with a grin, walking over.

“Sendak! Shiro!”

“Uh, hey,” Shit-o said.

Now that Lotor was closer Sendak couldn’t help noticing his eyelashes were somehow darker than usual, or maybe longer? Either way his eyes were ridiculously blue and his cheeks seemed- _sparkly_. There was something different about his lips, too. Were they shinier than they should have been? Lotor was flushed and happy and before Sendak quite knew what he was doing he reached out to run his fingers through Lotor’s high ponytail.

“So this is- you’re-” Sendak stuttered.

“I’m a cat,” Lotor said with a laugh. “Ezor and Zethrid helped me-” he looked around. “Oh. I guess they already went off somewhere.”

Sendak hadn’t noticed Lotor coming in with anyone. But then again, he wouldn’t have noticed a meteor hitting the Earth with Lotor in the same room as him, dressed like _that._ He ran his eyes down Lotor’s body, captivated by the shadow of his navel through the shirt, his hip-bones, and- the faint outline of his dick in those pants. Oh god. He wasn’t wearing underwear, was he. Sendak suddenly couldn’t breathe.

His heart was racing and he was painfully hard. At least his jersey covered his crotch. Too bad that wouldn’t help him when he passed out and the paramedics came for him.

“A cat, sure,” Shit-o said. “Where’s your tail?”

“Where do you think?” Lotor asked with a laugh. He raised the back of his coat and did a little twirl and yeah- he’d clipped a tail to the back of his pants and now Sendak was staring at his ass and he really was just going to keel over at any moment probably.

He swallowed heavily as Lotor let the coat drop back down.

“I’m going to get a drink, and then- beer pong? Sendak?”

“What?”

“Do you want to be my beer pong partner? Shiro- you and Keith can play against us. What do you think?”

“Uh- yeah,” Shit-o said. “Let me just- I’ll just- go. Find Keith.”

Sendak opened his mouth to say something except Lotor had already turned away to head to the kitchen and Shit-o had slipped away- somewhere. Sendak closed his mouth.

“Well, shit,” Haxus said from beside him and Sendak jumped. He’d completely forgotten Haxus was there. “Didn’t think your boy was the type to go for the slutty cat thing but I guess life is full of surprises. Oh, hey- it’s Lahn! I’m gonna go say hi. Have fun.”

And then Haxus was gone too and Sendak forced himself to move, to take a sip of his drink. Lotor was back quickly, dragging him over to the beer pong table.

“Please tell me you’re good at this,” Lotor said with a grin. “I don’t want to get beat by Shiro, it’ll be too embarrassing.”

“I’m pretty good,” Sendak said. If he didn’t look directly at Lotor he could pretend everything was normal. He forced himself to smile.

They flipped a coin to see who’d go first and Shit-o and Keith ended up starting. Shit-o fumbled the first shot, probably because he was too busy ogling Lotor, and Keith sank the second.

Lotor made a cup and Sendak made the one after and soon they fell into an easy rhythm. If Sendak just kept his eyes up front and ignored the way Lotor leaned against him as he laughed he could pretend he wasn’t about to pass out from lack of blood circulation to his brain. They played a few rounds, drinking steadily, and then Lotor dragged him over to the dance floor.

“Since when do you dance?” Sendak asked, captivated by the way Lotor’s eyes sparkled in the light of the orange fairy lights strung up over the ceiling.

“Since now,” Lotor said. “Come on, it’s fun!”

“Yeah,” Sendak said. He tried to be cool, he really did- but he couldn’t rip his eyes away from Lotor before him. He was going insane.

The song changed to something slow and Sendak made to leave but Lotor took his hand and dragged him back.

“What, afraid you’ll get cooties?” he asked with a smirk before stepping closer and wrapping his arms around Sendak’s shoulders.

“I probably already have all your cooties,” Sendak managed, trying not to tremble as he slid his hands up under the fluffy coat and set them on Lotor’s waist. Fuck, Lotor smelled so good, his skin was so hot under Sendak’s palms. The tank top just barely reached the top of his pants and it was riding up, now that Lotor had raised his arms to Sendak’s shoulders. Without quite knowing how it had happened, Sendak realized his hands were _under_ Lotor’s shirt, resting on bare skin.

Lotor’s waist was so narrow Sendak could almost entirely encircle it in his hands. It would be so easy to just- pick him up, press him against a wall and-

Lotor shifted closer and Sendak had to bite his lip as he carefully angled his hips away, absolutely terrified that Lotor would feel his hard-on and get freaked out.

Sendak was already plenty freaked out himself, he didn’t need to be making everything worse. It was a strange kind of blissful torture- Lotor in his arms just like he’d always wanted, and yet- not.

After the song ended Sendak stepped away with a sharp sigh. His head was spinning and he was so hard it hurt and he just- he couldn’t take it anymore. “I’m going to get another drink,” he said.

“Sure,” Lotor said, tilting his head to the side. “I’ll be here.”

“Ok,” Sendak said with a quick nod. He went into the kitchen, past all the drunk college students milling around the punch bowl, and out into the back yard. The cool night air helped clear his head a little, but not enough. He was still burning up. He just needed-

“Haxus,” he said when he saw him chatting with Lahn.

“Yeah?” Haxus asked, looking over. When he saw the expression on Sendak’s face his eyes widened and he grinned. “I’ll be right back,” he said, patting Lahn on the shoulder, and let Sendak drag him away.

 

* * *

 

Sendak should have been back by now, right? Lotor checked his phone nervously. He’d been gone ten minutes. It didn’t take that long to get a drink. He couldn’t help feeling worried, maybe Sendak wasn’t feeling well. Maybe he was sick or something and didn’t want to admit it.

Finally he couldn’t take it anymore and he checked the bathrooms, the kitchen. Sendak was nowhere to be found.

“You’re looking for Sendak?”

Lotor turned to see Lahn, one of Sendak’s teammates.

“He went out back,” Lahn said. “I think he had to talk to Haxus about something.”

“Thanks,” Lotor said with a nod and went out into the back yard. It was chilly outside and he pulled the coat closer around himself. There was a fire pit in the center of the yard surrounded by couples sitting together and people drinking and smoking, laughing as they tried to roast marshmallows on sticks only to inevitably set them on fire.

He didn’t see Sendak anywhere as he walked forward slowly, looking around. The glare of the fire made it hard to see anything past it, and then he heard something strange, like a muffled moan. In his gut he knew what he’d see, knew that he shouldn’t look. He looked anyway.

There were two figures kissing at the edge of the yard. Lotor instantly recognized Sendak’s distinctive form, pressing a smaller man- _Haxus-_ up against a tree. Haxus was gripping Sendak’s ass tightly and had one of his legs hitched up around Sendak’s hips. Sendak was holding him under the knee with one hand and the other was- was moving between them.

Lotor felt frozen as he stared, his feet rooted to the spot.

He felt like the world’s biggest fool. What had he thought would happen, really? He thought he’d dress up like an idiot and Sendak would fall all over himself for him? God. Everyone probably thought he was a moron, or- or worse. It was devastating and humiliating and he wished the ground would just open up and swallow him down.

There was something cold and wet on his face and he slowly raised his hand to his cheek. His fingers came away wet and for a second he had no idea what was happening. Except then a sob wracked his body and he felt impossibly worse. He turned away and ripped the stupid cat ears off his head, tossing them into the fire before heading inside and making a beeline for the bathroom.

He took deep breaths to try and stifle the tears as he bent over the sink and scrubbed his face with soap and water, washing off the mascara and eyeliner, the glitter and lip gloss. It would be hilarious if it wasn’t so pathetic.

He pulled his hair loose from its ponytail and took off the collar, shoving it into his pocket before closing his coat more tightly around his chest. Maybe he should have just gone home, but he couldn’t bear the thought of being alone in their room, not now. He grabbed another beer and headed upstairs, climbing out the window and onto the roof.

“Oh. Hey.”

Lotor looked up to see Shiro sprawled out before him, leaning back casually on his elbows. He’d changed out of his gladiator outfit and into comfortable sweats. He was holding a joint in his hand and he brought it up to his lips slowly while he watched Lotor sit down beside him, his gray eyes dark in the moonlight.

“Hey,” Lotor said quietly, pulling his knees up to his chest and taking a sip of beer.

“Everything alright?”

“Yeah. You? Why’d you leave the party?”

“Just wanted some peace and quiet,” Shiro said with a small smile, taking another drag off the joint. He seemed so relaxed, so perfectly at peace.

Lotor was suddenly jealous. Shiro would never make a fool of himself like Lotor had. He’d never pine after someone he couldn’t have like an idiot. He’d be sure and strong, he’d go after what he wanted and if it didn’t work out he’d move on, not hang around like some pathetic loser. Like Lotor.

“Can I try some of that?” Lotor asked, looking to the joint.

Shiro thought about it as he took another drag. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but I don’t think that would be a good idea.”

“Why not?” Lotor pouted.

“Probably shouldn’t be mixing alcohol and weed for your first time. And- you know. Sitting up on a roof.”

Lotor laughed a little before looking away.

“If you fell and broke your neck I’d be kind of bummed,” Shiro said.

“Yeah, you’re probably right,” Lotor breathed out, taking another drink before leaning back and looking up at the stars.

“What happened to your ears, kitten?”

“Took them off,” Lotor said. “They weren’t really my style.”

“Shame,” Shiro murmured. “I thought they looked pretty good.”

“Thanks,” Lotor whispered. If only Sendak had too. “Do you think I’m attractive?”

Shiro coughed in the middle of taking a hit, smoke exploding out of his mouth and nose to hang in a cloud around his face until the breeze blew it away. “Uh-”

“I mean, I know I’m not made out of pure muscle like _some_ people,” Lotor huffed out, narrowing his eyes as he thought of Haxus. “But I- I’m not _hideous_. I have- legs. And- and. A face. A decent face, I think.”

“Yeah,” Shiro said, his voice oddly strangled, probably from the coughing fit. “Yeah, you’ve definitely got that going for you.”

“I know I’m- _skinny,_ and my chin is too pointy, and maybe I can be- I don’t know. Cold. At times. But- but I’m not _repulsive-”_

“Lotor,” Shiro interrupted. There was something sharp in his voice and Lotor jerked up to look over at him. Shiro was sitting up now. As Lotor watched he stubbed out his joint and flicked it away. When he looked up there was something in his eyes, some expression Lotor couldn’t read.

“Yes?” he whispered. The air seemed charged, electric somehow.

Shiro paused, staring back at him, and then he breathed out and moved, slow but confident, careful but unstoppable. He set his hand on Lotor’s cheek, cradling his face in his warm calloused palm for a moment before sliding his hand to the back of Lotor’s neck and leaning in to bring their lips together.

Lotor gasped, his eyes fluttering shut on their own. Shiro felt so good against him, he couldn’t help raising his hand to clutch at Shiro’s sweatshirt and lean closer.

After what seemed like eternity and yet no time at all Shiro pulled away, leaving Lotor flushed and short of breath as he stared at him.

“Yes,” Shiro said quietly. “I think you’re attractive. And you’re not _cold,_ either. You’re- smart, and fun, and beautiful. And I like you. A lot.”

“Oh,” Lotor whispered. He was still reeling from the kiss, from seeing Sendak together with Haxus, from this whole strange night. He wasn’t sure how to deal with everything all at once but then Shiro grinned and leaned back like nothing had happened, relaxed and casual again. Lotor couldn’t help letting Shiro’s calm wash over him, and then he was smiling too. “You’re just saying that because you’re high,” he teased.

“Totally,” Shiro said, absolutely deadpan as he leaned back to look up at the stars. “When I’m sober I’m all like- look at that guy with his shiny hair and pretty blue eyes, his long legs and cute butt. Gross.”

Lotor snorted, leaning back too. “Thanks,” he said quietly. When Shiro reached out to take his hand Lotor didn’t pull away.

 

* * *

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The second mouse gets the cheese >.>
> 
> The art is by skaiahart and was originally posted [HERE](https://skaiahart.tumblr.com/post/184590336420/if-you-find-me-dead-its-probably-because-of-this) \- reblog don't respost!
> 
> The next 2 chapters will be up next week! They'll be better posted together ;)


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings for a serious dose of Good Dad Zarkon, who is TOO CUTE

 

* * *

 

 

Nothing changed and yet everything changed. Lotor and Shiro still had class together, studied together. Shiro didn’t mention what had happened at the Halloween party and Lotor didn’t either, but he couldn’t help thinking about it, couldn’t help blushing whenever he saw him.

His feelings for Sendak were like a bone-deep ache, burning and ancient and dangerous. But Shiro- he was like sunshine, steady and warm. Somehow Lotor had a feeling that Shiro would wait for him, at least for a little while. He’d wait for Lotor to sort himself out.

Being with Shiro was so easy. He didn’t push or demand, he was just _there_ when Lotor needed him. Lotor had loved Sendak for years, no matter how he’d tried to get over it, stifle it. Maybe this was how he could get past it at last- maybe Shiro could help him.

Meanwhile he and Sendak kept their morning ritual and their Friday movie night, as well as so many other little habits that kept them close, but Lotor started spending more time away, with his friends or with Shiro or alone. He told himself it was for the best but deep in his heart he wasn’t so sure.

“What, you don’t want to hang out with me anymore?” Sendak had asked once, and only once. He’d asked with a smile but Lotor could tell he felt at least a little hurt.

“Of course I do,” Lotor said carefully. “But I- this is good for both of us. We both need some space, right? I don’t mind… clearing out once in a while so you can…” he shrugged awkwardly, looking pointedly at Sendak’s bed.

“Right,” Sendak said slowly. He didn’t seem happy but Lotor didn’t know what else to say.

And then finals slammed into him and he forced himself to focus on his work, his classes. It was almost a relief, having something to occupy himself with that wasn’t his own personal issues. He submerged himself in school work, knowing that the light at the end of the tunnel was coming- the end of the semester.

Lotor loved being at school, loved his classes and his new friends and even rooming with Sendak, as impossible as it was at times, but he was looking forward to winter break. He needed a bit of normalcy and a chance to decompress and get his head together, to spend time with Sendak alone, like they’d used to.

He couldn’t help smiling when he got the inevitable text from his dad.

_How many for dinner?  
_ _-Z_

“Hey,” he said, looking over at where Sendak was lying on his bed braced over a kinesiology textbook. Sendak looked up, his brows drawn down into a faint frown. He was chewing on the end of his pen and for a second the sight of his lips wrapped around the bit of plastic made all the thoughts flee from Lotor’s head.

“What is it?” Sendak asked.

“Dad wants to know if you’re coming to Christmas dinner.” It wasn’t really a question- Sendak always spent the big holidays at their house, for at least five years now.

“I can’t.”

“I’ll tell him you’re-“ Lotor already had the text half written before Sendak’s quiet words broke through his skull. “What?” he asked incredulously. “What do you mean you- you _can’t._ You always-”

Sendak looked away, his shoulders weirdly tense. “Mom has a new boyfriend,” he said quietly. “She- she wants to try being a family again. She said- she said I’d better… come home. Or else.”

Lotor was absolutely speechless. _Devastated_ didn’t begin to cover it. He’d been looking forward to this so badly, a whole month with Sendak alone- without his hookups and friends with benefits, without distractions. He wanted them to be together again like before and- and-

And he was being a total asshole. Sendak was more upset that he was, by far. At least Lotor would be at home with his dad, while Sendak would be trapped in his mom’s shitty house on the edge of town with her new boyfriend that he didn’t know. He didn’t even have a car to leave for a while if he needed to. He’d just be… stuck.

“Oh,” Lotor managed even as Sendak seemed to shrink away from him. “Well… do you want to drive down with us at least? Dad wouldn’t mind-“

“You know she hates your dad,” Sendak muttered, pretending to go back to his book. “She bought me a train ticket. I- I’m leaving right after my last final.”

“But that’s- two days from now!” Lotor cried out miserably. “We were going to celebrate the end of first semester, and go to quiz night at the pub, and-“ he stopped abruptly, feeling like an asshole all over again.

But- why hadn’t Sendak said anything? Weren’t they best friends? Were things really so broken between them that Sendak didn’t want to tell him on his own?

“Sorry,” Sendak said, and the tone of his voice made Lotor’s heart ache. He shouldn’t be apologizing to Lotor for something like this.

Before he knew what he was doing Lotor stood and walked over to Sendak’s bed, taking him by the hand to pull him up. “So we’ll- we’ll have to do it all early then, while we still have time.”

Sendak furrowed his brow like he was confused. “But it’s- didn’t you have plans with Shiro tonight?”

“You’re my best friend,” Lotor said firmly. “You come first. You always will. Ok?”

Sendak seemed speechless, but then a smile spread over his face and it was the most joyful Lotor had seen him in a while.

“You come first,” Lotor repeated and wasn’t surprised when Sendak grabbed him and pulled him into a hug. Lotor hugged him back just as fiercely, feeling a little dizzy by the time Sendak pulled away.

“Come on, then,” Sendak said cheerfully. “Pub night awaits!”

 

* * *

 

There was a knock on the door and Lotor went to throw it open.

“Lotor,” Zarkon said sternly.

“Father,” Lotor said just as sternly.

They glared at each other pointedly like always, and like always Lotor was the first to break- laughing before running into Zarkon’s outstretched arms.

“My little bean is all grown up,” Zarkon said, his voice wavering like he was about to cry.

“Oh my god, _dad,”_ Lotor said, his voice muffled by where his face was pressed against Zarkon’s chest. He tried to struggle away but Zarkon was still holding him tight. “Dad! Save it for the car ride home!”

“You think you can boss around your old man?” Zarkon asked, finally loosening his arms enough for Lotor to wriggle away.

“You’re so embarrassing,” Lotor muttered, more to keep up appearances than because he meant it.

“Please,” Zarkon scoffed, picking up Lotor’s duffle. “You don’t know the meaning of embarrassing. I could have let Dayak come get you, she would have shown your entire dorm your baby pictures. She’d have given everyone a copy of the one with the rubber duckies where your bum’s out.”

“Oh my god,” Lotor said, cringing at the thought.

“That’s right. I saved you, little bean.”

“Thanks dad,” Lotor said.

They talked the whole car ride home, mostly Lotor answering Zarkon’s questions about his classes, his friends, what he did for fun. It was amazing seeing his dad again, but he couldn’t help feeling sad that Sendak wasn’t there with them.

He tried to keep the sadness under wraps, but when he stepped over the threshold of the house Lotor couldn’t help growing quiet. The house was large and well appointed, meticulously designed. The contemporary style and minimalist decor suddenly seemed cold in a way they never did when Sendak was here. He was supposed to be here.

There was a faint meow in the distance and Lotor couldn’t help laughing as he crouched down and Kova barreled into his arms, purring up a storm. “Hi there,” Lotor whispered as he stood again, holding Kova tight while the cat complained and quickly wriggled out of his hold to climb up his chest and perch on his shoulders.

He was still purring but as Lotor looked around he couldn’t help feeling like the house was painfully empty.

“It’s going to be alright,” Zarkon said, patting Lotor on the back. “He’s going to be alright too, and you’ll see each other again soon.”

“Thanks, dad,” Lotor said, turning to press his face against Zarkon’s chest.

“Hey, he’s not bigger than me now, is he? I swear that boy grows like a weed.”

Lotor laughed as he pulled away. “You’re like seven feet tall,” he said with a smile. “I don’t think you have to worry.”

He followed his dad into the living room, where Zarkon dumped his duffle unceremoniously by the couch.

“I got cheesecake from that place you like,” Zarkon said as he turned on the TV. “And Dayak made your favorite- pork aspic and herring salad-”

Lotor grimaced, sticking his tongue out. Kova hissed from his spot on Lotor’s shoulders and Zarkon grinned over at them.

“-so I figured we’d order a pizza,” he finished. “And we can watch a movie together. How does that sound?”

“Great,” Lotor said with a laugh.

They settled on the couch and Lotor pressed close to the warmth of his dad’s side, feeling like he was _home_ again as they watched some dumb superhero movie. They ate pizza as they watched, Lotor commenting on all the ways the characters broke the rules of physics while Zarkon groaned and told him to just _suspend his disbelief_ like that would fix the way they were violating the laws of thermodynamics _._

Lotor fell asleep like that, safe and happy and warm on the couch with a quilt over his legs and his dad’s hand on his back and Kova curled up beside him, only to wake suddenly to a dark room.

He wasn’t sure what had startled him. Zarkon was still there, sitting slumped on the couch and snoring faintly. The TV had turned off automatically and the pizza boxes were still standing open over the coffee table. Kova was perched on the back of the couch, staring at the front door with unblinking eyes.

“Dad?” Lotor whispered. Something was wrong and he wasn’t sure what.

Zarkon jerked awake immediately, rubbing his eyes with a yawn. “What is it?”

There was a quiet knock on the front door and they both looked over. Lotor quickly checked the clock- it was past two in the morning.

“Go upstairs,” Zarkon said firmly.

Lotor ignored him, following as Zarkon went to the front door. He could hear the faint sound of rain outside and drew closer as his dad opened the door. Someone was standing on the other side, someone tall and-

“Sendak?” Zarkon asked.

“Mr. Daibazaal,” Sendak said shakily. He had his arms wrapped around his middle; he was shivering. “Sorry- sorry to come this late. I just- I-”

“Stop that. Come inside, son,” Zarkon said firmly, setting his hand on Sendak’s shoulder.

Sendak flinched back a bit, looking behind him. “I- I- there’s-”

“What?” Zarkon asked.

Sendak looked down at the ground, swiping at his eyes. “I’m so sorry. I- I got a cab to come here, but- but I have no money, and- could you-”

“I’ll take care of it. Lotor-” he turned back to look at Lotor pointedly. “Get him inside.”

Zarkon didn’t wait for an answer before grabbing his wallet and heading out into the rain as Lotor rushed forward to pull Sendak into the house.

“Hey,” he whispered, confused and worried. He was so _happy_ that Sendak was here, but something was wrong, something had to be seriously wrong. Kova was practically screaming as he rubbed himself against Sendak’s legs, circling him restlessly.

“What-”

Sendak made a small pained sound as Lotor drew him into the light of the kitchen, and then Lotor gasped as he got a good look at him. One side of his face was swollen and bruised; his lip was bleeding.

“Sendak!” Lotor cried out, moving to embrace him.

“I’m- wet,” Sendak said awkwardly, trying to turn away, but it was too late. Lotor wrapped his arms around him, pulling him in and holding him close. The wetness of his clothes soaked into Lotor’s but he didn’t care. He held on tighter as Sendak shuddered and started to cry.

“Oh darling,” Lotor whispered, holding Sendak tighter. “What happened?”

“I- I- I- went home,” Sendak managed through his sobs. “He- we- we argued, and-”

“Shh, it’s ok,” Lotor said, rubbing Sendak’s back as Sendak buried his face in Lotor’s neck. “It’s ok, you know it’s ok now, you’re here, you’re safe.”

“He-”

“I’ll bury that son of a bitch for laying hands on you,” Zarkon said coldly from the doorway. “No one hurts my boys. No one.”

Kova hissed, as if in agreement.

“No,” Sendak said in a panic. “Mr. Daibazaal- please don’t-”

But Zarkon was already turning to grab his keys and Lotor rushed forward to take Zarkon’s wrist, pulling him back.

“Papa, no!” he cried out.

Zarkon jerked, his eyes widening in shock.

“Don’t,” Lotor insisted. “Just- just wait.” He stared until Zarkon dropped his keys, and then he went back to Sendak. “It’s ok, darling. Everything’s ok.”

“You’re eighteen now,” Zarkon said, his voice trembling with rage. “You don’t have to put up with- with- that _woman,_ and her-”

 _“Papa,”_ Lotor hissed, glaring over Sendak’s shoulder. “Now isn’t the time. Please.”

Zarkon was tense for a long minute after, and then he sighed and seemed to deflate, the rage draining out of him. “I’m sorry,” he said, raising his hands to rub his temples. “I’m sorry, I just- I can’t stand-”

“I know,” Lotor cut him off. “I know. But for now, just-”

“Sorry,” Zarkon said, stepping forward and carefully setting a hand on Sendak’s shoulder. “I- it’s good you came here, Sendak. You know there’s always a place for you here. You know we’ll always take care of you.”

“Thank you,” Sendak said quietly.

“Are you hurt anywhere else?”

Sendak shook his head miserably and Zarkon narrowed his eyes.

“You’re sure?” he asked. “We could wake Dayak, she-”

“I’m fine,” Sendak said. “I’m just- I’m. Tired.”

“I’ll take it from here,” Lotor said firmly. “Ok, dad?” He looked over meaningfully and Zarkon nodded.

“Go dry off and get some sleep,” Zarkon said. “Everything else can wait until later.”

“Come on,” Lotor said, taking Sendak by the hand to lead him upstairs. Kova tried to follow but Zarkon scooped him up into his arms, staring after them without saying a word.

Usually when Sendak stayed over he was in the room across the hall, but this time Lotor led him into his. “Do you want to shower or anything?”

Sendak shook his head. He wasn’t crying anymore but he still seemed shaken.

“I’ll be right back,” Lotor promised before darting out into the other room to get some dry clothes out of Sendak’s closet. “Here you go,” he said before going over to his own dresser.

“Thanks,” Sendak said. “I’ll just-” he made for the bathroom.

Lotor changed quickly into an oversized shirt and pajama pants before pacing the room as he waited for Sendak to come back. What was _taking_ so long? After a while he knocked on the door, and when there was no answer he carefully opened it and peered inside.

Sendak was leaning against the sink, his dry clothes in a heap on the counter.

“Hey,” Lotor said carefully. “What’s- what’s going on?”

“I- I can’t-” Sendak sighed sharply and ran his fingers through his damp hair. “I- my hands are shaking too hard. I-”

“Hey, it’s ok,” Lotor said, stepping closer. “I’ll help you, ok?”

He moved to unbutton Sendak’s shirt carefully before helping him push it off his shoulders. He probably didn’t need help with the tank top underneath but Lotor helped him get that off too, scanning Sendak’s body for other bruises or cuts. He’d been holding his stomach when he’d come, but he didn’t seem to be hurt.

Lotor couldn’t help blushing a little as he unbuckled Sendak’s belt and opened his pants for him. He was about to pull them down when Sendak closed his hands over Lotor’s.

“I think I’ve got it from here,” he said with a small smile. “I’ll be right out. Thanks.”

“Ok,” Lotor breathed out before beating a hasty retreat, sitting on his bed while he waited.

Sendak came out soon after only stop uncertainly in the middle of the room.

“Can you get the lights before you come to bed?” Lotor asked, trying to force his voice into something casual, like they shared a bed all the time and this was totally normal. Sendak visibly relaxed though, not arguing as he went over to switch off the lights before lying down on the other side of the bed.

Lotor turned to his side, looking at the way Sendak was staring up at the ceiling, his eyes glittering in the darkness.

“We haven’t done this in a while,” Sendak said quietly. “Shared a bed.”

“Not since that sleepover when we were twelve,” Lotor said with a small smile. He reached out to touch Sendak’s shoulder and Sendak bit his lip before sighing sharply and turning to press closer, hiding his face against Lotor’s chest. Wordlessly Lotor wrapped his arms around him, holding him close. They stayed like that for a while, and finally Lotor got up the courage to ask-

“Has this… happened before? With any of them?”

Sendak shook his head. “No,” he said. “Some have threatened, but they never- Or my mom stopped them when they tried it. And this time she- she just _stood_ there. She told me to go to my room after- can you believe it? But I just. Left.”

“Good,” Lotor said firmly. “It’s good you left.”

“What am I going to do now?” Sendak whispered, tightening his arms around Lotor. “She said if I left I couldn’t ever come back, she’d never help me with anything again. But I have school, and loans, and- and- what am I going to _do?”_

“Go to sleep, darling,” Lotor said. “Just go to sleep. And in the morning- we’ll figure everything out.”

 

 


	7. Chapter 7

 

* * *

 

Lotor woke to an empty room and tried not to be nervous as he hurried to get dressed and rushed downstairs. Had Sendak- _left?_

Except he arrived to a kitchen that smelled of bacon and pancakes, the room bathed in golden sunshine.

“Good morning, _mein_   _Schatz,”_ Dayak said from her spot by the stove as she expertly flipped a pancake.

“Morning Dayak,” Lotor said.

“Lotor, save me,” Sendak pleaded, looking up from where he was sitting next to Zarkon at the kitchen island. Kova was perched in Sendak’s lap, watching his breakfast intently. As Kova reached out to try and snag a piece of bacon Sendak pulled him back without even looking. Zarkon was wearing a dressing gown and his reading glasses, shuffling through a giant stack of papers.

“Don’t be so dramatic,” he scoffed.

“What’s going on?” Lotor asked curiously, walking closer to look over Sendak’s shoulder.

“We’re sorting out Sendak’s future,” Zarkon said, jotting down a note on one of the papers.

“What- all of it?” Lotor laughed. “Right now?”

“Yes,” Zarkon said, peering over at him over top of his glasses. “There’s nothing more stressful than uncertainty. How do you expect him to relax and have fun over break if he doesn’t know what’s going to happen next year? Besides, it’s simple enough-”

“Here you go,” Dayak said, setting a plate of pancakes and bacon down on the counter and kissing Lotor on the forehead. “You should have woken me last night when Sendak showed up. We could have given him some arnica cream and the bruising might have already gone down. Foolish boys! All three of you!”

“Sorry,” Lotor said, sitting next to Sendak and nudging him in the shoulder.

“You know I was a nurse-”

 _“In the great war,”_ all three of them finished for her in unison.

“Which war was that exactly, Dayak?” Zarkon asked.

“Don’t get fresh with me, young man,” she said with a glare, brandishing her spatula threateningly. “I helped deliver you and I can bury you just as easily.” She turned back to the stove and Zarkon grinned as he looked down at the papers before him.

“Your football scholarship covers room and board, plus half your tuition-” he continued.

“How do you even know that?” Lotor asked. Zarkon just raised his eyebrows pointedly and went back to the papers.

“The rest is covered through student loans, yes?”

Sendak nodded and stole a piece of bacon off Lotor’s plate even though he had a perfectly respectable pile of it on his own. Kova hissed in protest at this terrible injustice and tried to swipe the bacon out of Lotor’s hand, only to miss when Sendak casually pulled him back.

“You’re covered through the rest of this year, and I’ll co-sign your loans from here on out.”

“Mr. Daibazaal, I can’t ask you to do that-”

“Stop that,” Zarkon cut him off. “You’re as dear to me as if you were my own flesh and blood. I still remember the first thing you said to me like it was yesterday.” He pulled off his glasses to look off wistfully into the distance. “You said- ‘ _Hello Mister Lotor’s dad.’_ And then you handed me some sort of- clod of dirt.”

Lotor snorted as Sendak’s face grew beet red. “It was a mud pie,” Sendak said indignantly. “And it was- it had flowers on it and everything. I put a lot of effort into that.”

“I let you put that thing into my hand fully expecting it to be a dog turd,” Zarkon said. “The least you can do is let me make sure you’re taken care of now. What about the rest? Do you want to call the police? Press charges?”

The mood grew somber as Sendak looked down and shook his head. “I just want to not think about it anymore.”

“Let me know if you change your mind,” Zarkon said gently, setting his hand on Sendak’s shoulder. “Either way- the boys are coming in for the holidays. We’ll go and get your things for you. You don’t ever have to go back there if you don’t want to.”

“Thanks,” Sendak whispered.

“I have a conference call,” Zarkon said, standing from the table and grabbing his empty plate to set it into the dishwasher. “But you boys should go out and have some fun.”

“Thanks dad,” Lotor said.

While Dayak busied herself around the kitchen Lotor finished eating, throwing nervous glances at Sendak every so often until he looked up to see Sendak staring back at him with a frown. His face was still bruised but it didn’t look as bad as it had last night. Or maybe that was just because Lotor wasn’t nearly as freaked out now as he had been then.

 _“Lotor,”_ Sendak said firmly and Lotor jumped. “You don’t have to look at me like I’m going to break. I’m fine- I promise. Alright?”

“Alright,” Lotor said, forcing himself to smile and nod. He didn’t really believe Sendak, at least not yet. He’d been on the outs with his mother for at least a decade, but that didn’t mean this whole thing didn’t hurt him.

Sendak grinned and reached out to tug on a lock of Lotor’s hair playfully. “What do you wanna do today, baby?”

“You can start by getting out of my kitchen,” Dayak said with a scowl. “I’ve got too much to do for Christmas dinner and not enough hands.”

“That’s not for a week!” Lotor exclaimed.

“Exactly! Only a week! Now shoo!”

Sendak laughed while Lotor took their dishes over to the dishwasher before leaving.

“We could play video games or watch a movie or something?” Lotor suggested.

“Nah,” Sendak said. “I don’t want to be cooped up in here all day. Let’s go out somewhere.”

“Sure,” Lotor agreed easily.

They took one of Zarkon’s extra cars and headed into the center of town. If it wasn’t for the bruise on Sendak’s face it would have been just like any other winter at home. They went ice skating at the mall and wandered around a bit afterwards, Sendak groaning as Lotor dragged him to the bookstore. He stopped complaining when Lotor bought him a hot chocolate and left him at the cafe with a sports magazine while he went to look at the new sci-fi books, glancing over the stacks every so often to make sure Sendak wasn’t tapping his foot like he did when he was bored out of his mind.

They came back by dinner time to two new cars standing in the driveway and shared an excited glance before hurrying into the house. They walked in to see two men and a woman in the entrance hall, talking to Zarkon.

“Uncle Blaytz!” Lotor cried out, rushing forward with a grin.

“Lotor!” the man said with a laugh, grabbing Lotor and spinning him around a few times before setting him down and looking over at Sendak. “Little Sen-Sen? Not so little anymore!”

“Thanks,” Sendak said awkwardly before Blaytz pulled him into a hug too.

“Uncle Gyrgan, Aunt Trigel,” Lotor said, smiling as he greeted the couple.

They seemed happy to see him too, and just as happy to greet Sendak.

“You’ve both grown so much,” Gyrgan said, wiping a tear off his cheek.

“You just saw us both last summer,” Lotor laughed. “We can’t be that much bigger.”

“We can compare,” Trigel said, pulling out her phone. “I’ve got pictures.”

Luckily they were spared the embarrassment of all that by Dayak calling them in to dinner. It was delicious, as usual, and afterwards Trigel sat them down to ask about their studies while Zarkon went off somewhere with Blaytz and Gyrgan.

They returned an hour later with a few boxes of Sendak’s things, and if Zarkon’s knuckles were split and bloodied no one mentioned it.

It was a pretty good day, all things considered, and by some unspoken agreement Lotor and Sendak ended up sharing Lotor’s bed again that night, and then the following night too. Sendak didn’t seem to be in any hurry to go back to his own room and Lotor wasn’t about to kick him out.

As Christmas approached everyone in the house seemed to be swept up in the festive atmosphere. Blaytz had brought everyone garish Christmas sweaters and they all wore them without complaint- with the exception of Dayak of course.

Gyrgan and Zarkon went out to buy a tree and Blaytz put himself in charge of decorating it- which mostly meant ordering Lotor and Sendak around. Trigel showed them how to string up popcorn and cranberries to make garlands and when Alfor showed up on Christmas Eve- alone, seeing as how Melenor and Allura were off on some sort of mission trip- he brewed up a large pot of mulled wine that Lotor and Sendak snuck cups of all evening until they were both pleasantly tipsy.

“Oh no,” Sendak whispered that night as they laid in bed together. “I didn’t get anyone a present.”

“Did you get me a present, at least?” Lotor asked with a laugh.

“My undying love?” Sendak asked, his eyes glittering with mirth. He was joking but still it made Lotor’s heart speed up in his chest.

He forced himself to sigh and blow his hair out of his eyes. “I guess that’ll have to do,” he muttered and turned away so Sendak wouldn’t see him smile.

 

* * *

 

Lotor woke slowly. He was warm and happy and there was a heavy weight resting over his waist. It took him a minute to realize it was _Sendak_ , pressed up against his back.

Sendak’s breath was warm and steady against the side of Lotor’s neck, his giant hand resting over Lotor’s stomach under his shirt. And- oh god.

Lotor closed his eyes and bit his lip as he realized that Sendak was _hard_ , his erection pressing against Lotor’s ass. Lotor was hard too, and suddenly it was all he could think about. It was just morning wood, it was normal. But- but Sendak’s dick was pressed to his ass, the thin fabric of their underwear doing nothing to disguise the heat and the sheer massive size of it. Lotor’s breath quickened despite himself. He needed to escape- _now._

He tried to slide out from under Sendak’s arm except Sendak made a small sleepy noise like something between a moan and a hum and _shifted_ to lie more fully on top of him, pushing one of his giant muscular thighs between Lotor’s legs.

Lotor closed his eyes as he felt Sendak’s cock more firmly against him. Oh god. It felt so good. His own erection was pressed against the sheets and he just wanted to move, to shift, to rut up against the mattress, against Sendak behind him-

Sendak moved again and Lotor had to grip the pillow and bite his lip to keep from whimpering. Sendak pressed closer, sliding his hand up from Lotor’s stomach to his chest, rucking up his shirt as he went until Lotor’s entire front was just- naked.

Ok. He needed- he needed to go. He was so hard he could feel his heart beating in his dick, and Sendak was on _top_ of him and just- he couldn’t take this. He tried to move but Sendak was so much bigger and he was _heavy-_

“Mmm,” Sendak hummed, his arm tightening to drag Lotor closer.

 _“Fuck,”_ Lotor bit out as his cock pulsed in his boxer briefs. He tried to shift away but he was trapped between the mattress and Sendak’s unyielding body, each movement making sparks explode behind his eyelids and he couldn’t just- _cum_ here, in his pants, like a total pervert-

“Hey baby,” Sendak murmured, not quite awake. His voice was gravely and warm, low like he was talking to a lover.

Lotor’s dick twitched and he panicked. He was about to cum here, _now,_ with Sendak asleep and wrapped around him like some kind of awful sexy octopus. Sendak’s other hand was sliding under him, under his hip, curling up to hold his thigh and so painfully close to his groin-

“Sendak!” Lotor cried out desperately.

“Huh?” Sendak asked, more awake now.

“Let me _go!”_

Sendak tensed against him and finally Lotor was able to rip himself away, stumbling towards the bathroom as he tried to angle his body away from Sendak’s sight.

“Lotor-” Sendak said, but Lotor was already in the bathroom and slamming the door shut behind himself.

It was all he could do to turn on the water and shove his underwear down, wrapping his hand around his cock and giving it a few quick strokes before he was cumming, his knees threatening to buckle as he leaned against the wall, breathing hard.

_Fuck!_

He’d told himself he wouldn’t do this, wouldn’t think about Sendak like this. And- here he was, being a total pervert while Sendak was in the other room. Goddammit.

Lotor did his best to clean himself off, flushing the toilet as an afterthought, as camouflage.

When he finally gathered the courage to go back out into the main room Sendak was sitting up, looking worried.

“Hey,” he said quietly. “What- are you alright? I didn’t- I didn’t hurt you, did I?”

“No,” Lotor said, forcing himself to slap a smile over his face. “No, I- I just really needed to pee.”

Sendak relaxed all at once, sagging back against the sheets. “You’ve always had a tiny bladder.”

“Yeah,” Lotor said with an awkward laugh.

“Remember that time your dad took us to Disney World? You kept needing to pee- I was so mad. We missed all the good rides ‘cause we had to keep getting out of line.”

“Yeah, yeah, laugh it up,” Lotor muttered, even as something in his own heart eased. It was ok. Everything was ok.

“We missed out on Space Mountain. I don’t know if I’ll ever forgive you.”

Lotor grabbed a pillow and wacked Sendak in the face. “Shut up!”

Sendak dodged and grabbed him by the arm, tackling him back into bed and trapping both of Lotor’s wrists in one of his hands. Lotor fought even as Sendak tickled his sides, laughing despite himself. Thank god he’d just jerked off, or else this would have done him in.

“Sendak!” he managed through his laughter. “Stop it!”

“Gotta show you who’s boss, right?” Sendak laughed, his face awfully close to Lotor’s ear.

“You showed me!” Lotor cried out, starting to grow aroused again despite everything. “You showed me, just- let me up!”

“Alright, baby,” Sendak said, pressing a kiss to the side of his face before relenting. “I’m starving. Meet you downstairs?”

“Yeah,” Lotor said, simultaneously relieved and disappointed when Sendak let him go and climbed out of bed. “I’ll meet you downstairs.”

He waited a few beats after Sendak had gone to pull out his phone, scrolling through his messages until he found the last thing Shiro had texted him-

_Dinner some time? No pressure. I know you might need to wash your cat_

Lotor bit his lip as he stared. The message was a week old. He hadn’t said anything because he hadn’t known what to do. But it was obvious now, wasn’t it? It was obvious that nothing was happening between him and Sendak, that nothing _should_ happen, even if it could. They’d been close before and they were even closer now, and Lotor didn’t want to screw everything up. He didn’t want Sendak to be uncomfortable in the only home he had left, that would make Lotor the worst kind of selfish bastard.

He needed to move on and Shiro was here- handsome and perfect, waiting for him like some sort of angel. Lotor couldn’t help smiling as he thought of Shiro’s eyes, his _lips_ , the way he’d held Lotor on the roof and taken care of him this whole time. Shiro was great. Shiro was perfect. Shiro was exactly what he needed.

Shiro was _real_ in a way his crush on Sendak wasn’t. Lotor bit his lip nervously, but he knew what he had to do even as his fingers flew over the screen. He wrote-

_It’s a date_

-and hit send.

 

 


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you thought they couldn't get dumber... you were wrong D:

 

* * *

 

 

“If you don’t stop glaring, your face will stay like that,” Haxus said.

Sendak grunted noncommittally as he stared across the road to where Shit-o was talking to Lotor. Shit-o was wearing a black leather jacket like it wasn’t perfectly warm outside as he showed Lotor his goddamn _motorcycle._

Who even had a motorcycle? What was this, some 80’s greaser flick? And- he was a freshman, how did he even have it on campus, where had he been keeping it? Sendak wasn’t jealous, he was worried. Motorcycles were dangerous, and of course Lotor couldn’t keep his hands off it, bending to look at the engine and laughing as Shit-o explained something to him with a smile.

He’d come back from break with some shitty dye job, the front of his hair white now like he was in some kind of boy band. It looked- it looked _terrible,_ is what it looked like. That’s why Sendak couldn’t tear his eyes away from the clump of white hair falling into Shit-o’s face, because of how terrible it looked.

Lotor straightened and said something else, smoothing his hands over Shit-’s jacket. If only Lotor touched him like that, leaned in to him like that. Shit-o bent down and then they were _kissing._ Sendak couldn’t rip his eyes away from the way Lotor’s arms encircled Shit-o’s neck. He was pretty sure Shit-o was grabbing Lotor’s ass and could they just- _not?_

Not make out in public, or at all maybe. Maybe they could just not- anything.

“Dude,” Haxus said.

“What,” Sendak bit out, turning back to him.

“If you’re done ogling, maybe we could actually, you know- get to class?”

“Yeah,” Sendak muttered, following Haxus down the sidewalk. “And I wasn’t ogling. I was just- they’re disgusting. Out in public, just- making out.”

“Pretty rich coming from the guy who shoved his hand down my pants in the middle of a party.”

“That was-” Sendak started angrily only to deflate. “Different,” he finished awkwardly. “We were at the edge of the party. And it was. Dark.”

“Yeah, man. Whatever. Maybe try not being a jealous bastard though. You might live longer.”

“I’m not jealous!” Sendak hissed. He wasn’t. He definitely wasn’t jealous of the way Lotor looked at Shiro, touched him. He definitely wasn’t jealous of how Shiro got to kiss him and hold him, and-

“Jesus,” Haxus muttered. “And we thought Hepta was an idiot that time he crashed his bike and broke both his arms. But you’re something else.”

Sendak glared while Haxus pointedly ignored him. What the hell was that supposed to mean, anyway? How was he an idiot. Haxus was the idiot, thinking he was- jealous.

“I can’t even tell anymore who you want to make out with more,” Haxus said. “Your boy Lotor, or that Shiro guy.”

“Neither of them,” Sendak insisted furiously. “Fuck- were you always such an asshole?”

“Whatever helps you sleep at night,” Haxus said and finally had the decency to shut his stupid face. What did he know, anyway. Sendak was fine. Everything was fine.

 

* * *

 

Shiro was amazing. Everything was amazing. Lotor held tighter to Shiro’s waist as they sped through the dark streets, empty and peaceful this late at night. They’d gone to some dive bar and had the best burgers Lotor had ever eaten, and then they’d played mini golf. Shiro had totally destroyed him, but Lotor didn’t mind. It was easy and fun and he almost didn’t think about Sendak at all.

Shiro parked his bike at the frat before helping Lotor climb off, offering his hand like some kind of old timey gentleman. It was impossibly endearing and Lotor couldn’t help blushing. Shiro didn’t let go as they started to walk, still chatting easily about nothing much.

Lotor couldn’t help being distracted though. They’d gone on nearly half a dozen dates now, and each one had ended with Shiro walking him home and kissing him chastely at the door. He wanted more but wasn’t quite sure to how to ask, too afraid to make an ass of himself or sound desperate.

They reached a fork in the path and Shiro pulled him to an abrupt stop. One way led towards Lotor’s dorm, the other to Shiro’s.

“Hey,” Shiro said with a small smile. “So. Lance is out tonight- all weekend, really. If you wanted- if you wanted to come over.”

Lotor bit his lip nervously, his heart speeding up.

“It’s ok if you don’t want to,” Shiro said. “I just thought I’d- offer.”

“I want to,” Lotor said firmly.

“Ok,” Shiro said, smiling even wider now. “Let’s go.” He took Lotor’s hand and dragged him onwards and Lotor couldn’t help laughing at his excitement.

“Too slow!” Shiro said and bent to haul Lotor over his shoulder.

“Hey!” Lotor cried out, trying to sound indignant even though Shiro’s strength made him breathless with desire.

“Shh, people are trying to sleep, kitten,” Shiro said, carrying him the rest of the way while Lotor struggled and grumbled half-heartedly.

Before he knew it Shiro was setting him down on his bed and looming over him. They hadn’t bothered to turn the lights on but he could see the way Shiro was looking at him even in the light of the streetlights spilling in through the windows- his eyes dark and full of desire.

“Wait,” Lotor said, his nerves rising. “I’ve never really… done- anything. Just- just kissing.”

“Ok,” Shiro said, smiling like he wasn’t put off at all. “Well- tell me if you want to slow down or stop, ok? And- tell me if there’s something you want to try, too.”

“Ok,” Lotor breathed out and Shiro bent down to kiss him.

Lotor wrapped his arms around his neck as he kissed him back, moaning when Shiro moved to settle on top of him, his body a warm heavy weight that was somehow reassuring. He was so big and strong, his muscles firm under Lotor’s hands, almost like-

No. He wasn’t thinking about Sendak now.

“You ok, kitten?” Shiro whispered, pulling back a little.

“Yeah,” Lotor said. “Don’t stop.” He dragged Shiro back down and Shiro laughed against his mouth, sliding his hands under Lotor’s shirt and rucking it up. Lotor shivered as his skin was exposed to the cool air, and then he shivered because Shiro was sliding down to kiss his neck, and then his chest-

“Shoes off,” Shiro said, looking up at him with a grin, and Lotor twisted awkwardly to toe off his trainers.

Shiro licked a stripe up his body, from his bellybutton to the middle of his chest, and Lotor jolted with a yelp. It was- silly, and ridiculous, and _good,_ and Shiro laughed easily while Lotor flushed and bit at his lip.

“Gross,” he muttered.

“Nah,” Shiro said and toed off his own shoes before moving up to kneel over him as he opened Lotor’s belt. “You liked it.”

Shiro went for his zipper and Lotor gasped, sitting up a little, his heart pounding.

“What’s wrong?” Shiro asked, his eyes wide with worry.

“Just- it’s- it’s a little- fast,” Lotor muttered, flushing with embarrassment.

“Ok, kitten,” Shiro said. “We’ll slow down.” He moved to lie next to Lotor on the bed, smiling easily as he traced his fingers over Lotor’s face. “You wanna stop?”

Lotor bit his lip as he looked into Shiro’s eyes, at how relaxed he was. Shiro wasn’t pushing, he never did. Lotor felt safe with him, and wanted him, and- and he shook his head.

“Ok,” Shiro breathed out. “But you tell me, ok? You tell me what you want.”

“Ok,” Lotor whispered and leaned in to kiss him. They made out for a while, and eventually Lotor got up the courage to slide his hands up under Shiro’s shirt, practically whimpering at how good he felt. It felt like ages went by until Lotor ended up with one of Shiro’s thighs between his own, thrusting up against him to try and get some pressure on his aching cock. It was no use- the angle was all wrong and there were too many _clothes_ in the way-

 _“Shiro,”_ he whined in frustration.

“Oh, you want more, kitten?” Shiro laughed.

“Screw you,” Lotor grumbled. “Just- come _on._ Please.”

Shiro laughed again and finally, _finally,_ moved to open Lotor’s pants. He slipped his hand inside and Lotor moaned, arching against him as Shiro wrapped his fingers around his cock, stroking firmly a few times before pulling away.

 _“Shiro-!”_ Lotor groaned and Shiro pressed a kiss to his cheek before sitting back and pulling Lotor’s jeans and underwear off in one smooth motion. Before he knew it Shiro’s _mouth_ was on him, swallowing him down.

His brain shorted out as Shiro shoved his thighs open wider and started bobbing up and down, holding him by the hips to keep him pressed to the bed. Lotor’s thoughts shattered into static as he gripped the sheets.

“Please,” he panted, overwhelmed by the pressure and the heat, by strong calloused hands holding him down. It was like every fantasy he’d ever had but _real_ and he felt mindless with pleasure. It was dark, and the feeling of a slick mouth on him was so good Lotor’s brain was short circuiting. And that was probably why he moaned- “Please- _Sendak-”_

Abruptly everything stopped and Lotor’s eyes flew open as he realized what he’d just said. Oh god. Shiro was staring down at him wide-eyed. Oh fuck. He’d fucked up. He’d fucked up so bad.

He was frozen as his thoughts raced- he’d ruined everything. Shiro was going to tell him to get out, Shiro was going to hate him. Oh god. Shiro was going to _hate_ him.

“Oh,” Shiro said quietly.

 _Oh?_ What was that supposed to mean? Lotor desperately searched for something to say, something to make this ok even though there was no way it could be now. But Shiro wasn’t moving, wasn’t trying to get up or go, or-

“Ok,” Shiro said.

“What?” Lotor managed, the word coming out as some kind of strangled squeak.

Shiro bent down to kiss him and Lotor made a surprised sound against his mouth.

“It’s ok,” Shiro murmured, moving off to press hot open-mouthed kisses to his neck. “It’s ok. That’s what you want? Ok, kitten. Ok.”

“Shiro-” Lotor tried, not sure what he was about to say next. He was still painfully hard and he couldn’t help the restless shifting of his hips.

“It’s alright, baby,” Shiro whispered, pitching his voice into something low and rumbling, and in that moment he sounded exactly like-

“Shiro,” Lotor said, shuddering as he felt Shiro’s hand tracing down his chest-

“No,” Shiro said. “No, say what you mean. What you want.”

“Sendak,” Lotor breathed out, closing his eyes in shame, and Shiro kissed him again, devouring his mouth in a way that left Lotor dizzy and breathless. It was good, too good-

“Close your eyes, baby,” Shiro whispered. “It’s alright.”

“Oh fuck,” Lotor groaned, practically sobbing when he felt Sendak’s- _Shiro’s-_ hand moving down his body. He took both their cocks in hand and Lotor cried out as he pushed up into it.

“Yeah, baby- there you go. That’s so good-”

“Sendak,” Lotor moaned, restless against his powerful body pressing him down. Everything was fire and ashes, everything was burning pleasure. His thighs fell open wider and he couldn’t take it anymore, he was so close.

“That’s it, baby-”

Lotor cried out and he was cumming, shuddering through it and Sendak- _Shiro-_ was still stroking him, and then he was cumming too, breathing harshly against Lotor’s neck as he finally slowed and pulled away.

Shiro wiped them off and wrapped an arm around Lotor’s waist, pressing kisses to his neck as he stroked his side in slow even motions, like he was soothing a frightened animal.

Despite everything, despite how ashamed he felt, it was good. It was too good. Lotor clutched at the sheets and buried his face in the pillow and tried to pretend like he hadn’t just gotten off to imagining Shiro was _Sendak._

 

* * *

 

Lotor woke slowly to see Shiro was already mostly dressed and sitting on the edge of the bed, pulling on his sneakers. He must have sensed Lotor looking because he turned towards him with a small smile.

“Hey. Good morning.”

“Morning,” Lotor said quietly.

“Listen,” Shiro sighed, looking away. “We should- we should talk. Obviously things got- out of hand last night.”

“I’m sorry,” Lotor said.

Shiro looked over at him in surprise. “ _You’re_ sorry? _I’m_ sorry.”

“What are _you_ sorry about,” Lotor demanded, sitting up and pulling the blanket up to his chest. “I- I _used_ you, and-”

“But I was selfish, and- and I shouldn’t have- kept going, egged you on-”

“I wanted you to!”

“Well- I wanted to! But I’m still sorry.”

“Me too,” Lotor said, looking down.

Shiro laughed quietly. “That’s what you want the morning after, right? Both people to be sorry about it.”

“I guess that’s better than only one person being sorry about it,” Lotor muttered.

“I like you, Lotor. A lot. But- obviously you like him. So. So I think this probably shouldn’t happen again.”

“Yeah,” Lotor breathed out, dropping his head into his hands. He’d ruined everything. He felt sick with himself, for hurting Shiro, for loving Sendak, for being so pathetic. He sniffled a little as tears rose to his eyes. Oh god. He couldn’t cry here in front of Shiro after what he’d done.

“Oh hey-” Shiro said in alarm and Lotor sniffled again. “Oh no- kitten, no- it’s alright.” He climbed back into bed and pulled Lotor into his arms, stroking his hair gently.

Lotor only started crying harder at that. He clutched at Shiro and Shiro held him closer, whispering soothing nonsense.

“How about some breakfast?” Shiro murmured after the tears subsided. “I’m dying for a cup of coffee. We could just- go, and- and talk about something else. Ok?”

Lotor nodded and blushed when Shiro gently swiped his thumb over his face.

“Everything’s ok,” Shiro whispered.

“Ok,” Lotor whispered back.

Shiro went to the bathroom while Lotor got dressed, and then he wrapped his arm around Lotor’s shoulders as they walked to the nearest dining hall together. Slowly they returned to some semblance of normalcy, and still Lotor couldn’t help feeling sad. He _liked_ Shiro, he honestly did. He’d wanted things to work out between them. But he’d ruined that.

And now he wouldn’t have Shiro, and he wouldn’t have Sendak either. He’d just be- alone. Forever.

Shiro walked him back to his dorm room, stopping in front of the door.

“Listen,” Shiro said quietly. “I want you to be happy, alright? I want you to work it out. Talk to him.”

“I can’t,” Lotor said, turning away from Shiro’s frown.

“Try, kitten,” Shiro said, and kissed him on the cheek before leaving.

 

* * *

 

Sendak had been worried sick when Lotor hadn’t come home from his date. It was bound to happen eventually, but he still felt impossibly angry and hopeless about it all. And then the doorknob turned and he jerked up to see Lotor walking in.

“Hey,” he said.

“Hi,” Lotor answered. He seemed _off_ somehow and Sendak frowned, standing from where he’d been lounging on his bed.

“Everything alright, baby?”

“Yeah,” Lotor said, smiling up at him. But it didn’t reach his eyes and Sendak was suddenly furious.

“I’ve got- I need to- go,” he managed before heading out the door.

He caught up with Shit-o just as he was leaving the building. “Hey!” he yelled and Shit-o paused, looking back at him. He seemed _off_ too and Sendak was shaking with rage.

“What did you do?” he demanded as he grabbed Shit-o by the shirt and shoved him up against the wall of the residence hall.

Shit-o glared at him but stayed silent.

“Did you fuck him?” Sendak growled.

“What are you, his owner?” Shit-o answered with a scowl.

“Did you _fuck_ him?” Sendak hissed, narrowing his eyes.

Shit-o tightened his lips. He looked down and sighed sharply. “No,” he said, but Sendak didn’t have time to be relieved. “I sucked him off.”

Sendak bared his teeth in a snarl. Shit-o glared back at him defiantly and Sendak was overcome with anger and- and- something else. He wanted to punch the fucker’s lights out and he surged forward to- to-

And then they were _kissing_ and Sendak didn’t know how it had happened. He was kissing Shiro viciously, devouring his mouth like he could chase the taste of Lotor from his lips.

Shiro made a muffled sound of surprise and then he was grabbing Sendak’s shoulders, but not to push him away. He was kissing back and Sendak didn’t know what was happening even as it happened. They were making out in the bright light of day, outside where anyone could see them, where anyone could walk out at any moment- _Lotor_ could-

Shiro shoved him roughly away and Sendak fell back a few steps, breathing hard and staring wide-eyed as Shiro wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.

“You stupid _fuck,”_ Shiro hissed, his eyes flashing with anger. “It wasn’t _my_ name he moaned when he came.”

He stormed off and Sendak could only stare after him, more lost and confused than ever before.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The plan is to post the next three chapters next week! Your suffering is coming to an end, folks ;)


	9. Chapter 9

 

* * *

 

 

Obviously Sendak couldn’t go back to his room. Lotor was there, and he couldn’t face him after what he’d just done, after what Shiro had _said-_

_It wasn’t my name he moaned when he came._

What the fuck was that supposed to mean? Whose name was it? Who else was there?

Before he knew exactly what he’d done he was pounding on a door-

“Jesus,” Haxus said as he opened it, sleepy and disheveled in just a pair of boxes. “What the fuck, man? It’s not even noon.”

Sendak looked past him to see that his roommate was out and shoved his way inside. “Let’s fuck.”

“Eh, no thanks,” Haxus said.

“What do you mean _no thanks?”_ Sendak asked incredulously.

Haxus shrugged. “Listen, it was fun for a while but lately you’ve just been using me as your emotional security blanket. And I mean- that’s whatever, but I’ve got a date with Hepta tomorrow and I’m not fucking it up.”

“A- date?”

“Yeah, a date,” Haxus said, sitting down on his messy bed with a groan. “It’s what normal people do? You know- _normal_ people. People who talk about their shit instead of pining hopelessly and burying their feelings under fifteen levels of denial.”

“I don’t-”

“What happened?” Haxus asked.

“Nothing _happened,”_ Sendak muttered, sitting heavily in Haxus’s desk chair.

“If nothing happened then why the fuck am I getting a booty call at ten in the morning?”

“Fuck,” Sendak whispered, leaning forward to rest his elbows on his knees. “I fucked up.”

“And…?”

“I- I kissed Shiro.”

“Jesus,” Haxus muttered and bent down to pull a bottle of cheap vodka out from under his bed. He took a drink before offering it to Sendak, who took a drink too.

“You made out with your roommate’s boyfriend?”

“Oh fuck,” Sendak muttered, burying his face in his hands. “Oh god. What did I _do?”_

“Why are you such a _slut?”_ Haxus demanded. “Lotor’s gonna be pissed.”

“Shiro kissed me back,” Sendak said. “And then he- he shoved me away, and he said-” He broke off, swallowing nervously.

“What?”

“It doesn’t matter. Shit. Shit!” He took another swig of vodka but Haxus yanked the bottle out of his hand.

“You need to go talk to him- you need to tell him, _now._ He needs to hear it from you first, you get that?”

“What am I supposed to say?”

“Start with ‘I kissed Shiro’ and then keep going and say everything else, too!”

“I can’t,” Sendak said. “I just- I can’t.”

“You stupid fuck,” Haxus said, slapping him in the shoulder. “You’re in love with him- you have to tell him. What’s the worst that could happen?”

“It could ruin everything!” Sendak yelled, jerking to his feet. He started to pace, running his hands through his hair nervously. “He’ll- he’ll get freaked out, and he won’t want to be with me anymore- room with me- And I- I can’t! I can’t lose him! At least now I- now I-”

He took a deep shuddering breath, stopping to wrap his arms around himself. “At least now I can- touch him, hug him- kiss him. I can- I can call him _baby_ and pretend like it means- And if I lose him I’ll have _nothing!_

“He won’t want to be around me, he’ll- he’ll… He’ll _leave_ and I’ll have nothing!”

Haxus stared at him silently for a long moment and then he sighed and set the bottle of vodka on the table with a decisive clang. “Listen up, asshole. You’re going to stop being such a chicken shit. You’re going to find your balls and march back to your room, and you’re going to tell him you kissed his boyfriend. And then you’re going to tell him you’re in love with him.

“And honestly? He’s probably gonna want to jump your bones right then and there. And if not- you’ve been friends your entire lives. If he doesn’t… want you like that… you’ll move past it. Both of you. Alright?”

Sendak forced himself to nod. Haxus was right. So why was he so fucking _scared?_

 _“Now,”_ Haxus said. “Go _now.”_

“Right,” Sendak said, nodding jerkily. “Right. I’ll- I’ll go. Now.”

He left and tried to steel himself for what was coming. It took at least fifteen minutes to get back and he still had no idea what the fuck he was going to say even as he opened the door to their room.

Lotor wasn’t there.

He wasn’t sure if he was relieved or just more worried. He looked for Lotor in the dining halls, in the library. He even went down to Beta Lambda Pi and asked around like an awkward idiot while the brothers stared at him. But Lotor wasn’t anywhere and finally Sendak found himself sitting on a bench by the visitor center staring at his phone.

He could probably text Lotor, tell him-

What, exactly? _We need to talk?_

No, he had to do this in person, had to tell him-

But Lotor made himself scarce for the rest of the day, and the entire week after. They _lived_ together, and still Sendak couldn’t catch him alone and awake. And then it was spring break and he walked back into their room after the gym to see Lotor zipping up his duffle bag.

“Hey,” Sendak said nervously, his heart pounding in his chest as Lotor slowly looked up.

He wasn’t sure what the expression over his face meant and it was terrifying.

“Hey,” Lotor said quietly.

Fuck. He’d waited too long. Shiro had told him what Sendak had done and Lotor probably hated him for it. Fuck!

“I think we should- we should talk,” Sendak managed.

“Yeah,” Lotor said, looking down and picking up the duffle. “Yeah, we should. I think- we shouldn’t room together next year.”

“What?” Sendak asked. He felt like he’d just been run over by a train. He couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think-

Lotor just looked away and went to leave.

“Lotor-” he gasped, reaching for him.

“Dad’s waiting,” Lotor said, not meeting his eyes. “See you.”

And then he was leaving and Sendak stared after him, shocked and afraid. He’d ruined everything. Oh fuck. He’d ruined _everything._

He sat down on his bed and buried his face in his hands, trying to stop himself from crying. It was no use. He couldn’t stop the tears just like he couldn’t stop Lotor from leaving. Everything was ruined.

Everything.

 

* * *

 

“Oh no, I know that face,” Zarkon said when Lotor climbed into the car. “That’s a bad face. What happened?”

“Nothing,” Lotor muttered.

“It’s obviously not nothing, bean.”

“Can we just go?” Lotor asked. “Let’s please just- go.”

“Alright,” Zarkon said, still frowning as he shifted gears and pulled out of his parking spot. Lotor turned on the radio and looked out the window, frowning and trying not to cry.

He’d done the right thing. He couldn’t room with Sendak again, he couldn’t take another year of Sendak walking around shirtless and bringing his hookups into their shared space and- and- _kissing_ him every morning like that was normal. It was too painful. He should have known it was a bad idea and never even agreed to it in the first place.

But Sendak’s _face-_

He’d looked so upset. Lotor wanted to cry just thinking about it. He was devastated and he couldn’t take Sendak’s sadness on top of it all. But he’d have to get through it, he’d have to deal with the rest of the year, and then- then he could try to get over Sendak once and for all.

Eventually Zarkon pulled off the highway and into the parking lot of a tiny diner. Lotor wasn’t feeling hungry, his gut was churning with nausea, but he didn’t protest as he followed his dad inside.

Zarkon ordered him a rootbeer float and Lotor rested his face on his hand as he slowly pulled it closer and took a sip.

“Alright, bean. What’s going on?”

“I told Sendak we shouldn’t room together next year,” Lotor said quietly.

“Why not?” Zarkon asked. “You didn’t-” his eyes widened and he reached out to set his hand over Lotor’s. “Oh bean. The two of you didn’t break up, did you?”

Lotor jerked up to stare into Zarkon’s face. “What?” he asked, his voice coming out strangled. “Break- break _up?_ We were never- never- _together!”_

Zarkon laughed, only to stop abruptly when he saw Lotor’s frown. “Oh. You’re serious. Really?”

“Yes! Why would you even-”

“Well, I- really? I thought you’d been dating for at least two years now. Ever since you kissed?”

Lotor’s mouth dropped open as he stared. “What- how do you even _know_ about that?”

“You told me?” Zarkon said, raising his eyebrows. “Remember, you came downstairs Christmas morning and I asked what you were so happy about, and you said- you said- _I had my first kiss.”_

“I- I-” Lotor sputtered, staring down at the table. “I- didn’t tell you it was with- Sendak.”

“Little bean,” Zarkon said gently. “He was the only one there.”

“Oh my god,” Lotor muttered, burying his face in his hands.

“Oh little bean. There’s no need to be so embarrassed. You can tell me anything, you know that.”

“We weren’t together,” Lotor whispered. “Not ever.”

“But you love him.”

“Yeah,” Lotor said, closing his eyes with a sharp sigh.

“Have you _told_ him?”

“It’s not that simple!” Lotor said, looking up again. “I can’t just- just- _tell_ him.”

“You can, and you should.”

“It doesn’t matter,” Lotor muttered. “He doesn’t- he doesn’t feel that way about me. He- he’s seeing other people. A lot of other people. And. I can’t live with him anymore and- have that rubbed in my face. It hurts too much.”

He couldn’t bear to look at the way his dad’s expression fell, like pity and- and-

Zarkon stood and moved so he was sitting beside Lotor in the booth, wrapping an arm around his shoulders.

 _“Dad,”_ Lotor hissed halfheartedly but Zarkon just pulled him closer, pressing a kiss to the top of his head.

“It’s going to be alright, I promise you. Talk to him. Just talk to him and you’ll-”

Lotor sobbed only to bring his hand to his mouth, mortified at himself. But then he sobbed again no matter how hard he tried to hold it back and Zarkon wrapped his arms around him, holding him close. Lotor closed his eyes and cried against his dad’s chest, feeling awful and safe at the same time, only vaguely noticing the waitress coming back.

“I guess- I guess you need more time,” she said awkwardly.

“A little,” Zarkon said, sounding far away as he stroked Lotor’s hair.

 

 


	10. Chapter 10

 

* * *

 

Spring break was peaceful and thankfully devoid of further heart to hearts. Zarkon took Lotor camping and they had a fantastic time together, sleeping in tents and cooking over a fire. It was easy and fun and Lotor found himself sad at the prospect of going back to school and dealing with all the things waiting for him.

Luckily there was barely a month and a half left of the semester anyway. He could endure that much, and then he'd figure out where to go from there.

For the most part he succeeded at avoiding Sendak. He spent his days studying at the library or elsewhere, kept away from their dorm. He texted with Shiro too, although he couldn’t quite bring himself to go back to BLP or see Shiro in person outside their classes. He felt like shit over what had happened, even though Shiro was remarkably good at playing it cool. Lotor felt like the biggest asshole, wanting Shiro while at the same time his desire for Sendak was carving his insides out.

It was all hopeless, so Lotor focused on the only thing he had control over- his school work.

That worked well enough for a week or two, and then he returned from the library at dinner time, when Sendak was usually out at the gym with his teammates, to see Sendak waiting for him.

“Lotor,” he said quietly and Lotor’s heart seized in his chest.

They hadn’t talked in a while, they really hadn’t talked properly since before spring break. Lotor had never been scared of Sendak but in that moment he was terrified. “Hi,” he managed, fiddling with the strap of his bag. “I- I forgot a book at the library, I should-”

He turned to leave but before he knew it Sendak was up and striding forward, slamming the door shut before Lotor had even quite managed to get it open.

Lotor looked up at him, his heart thudding with fear as he tried to get his thoughts together. They hadn’t been this close in a while- close enough to touch. Sendak was glaring at him, and-

“What’s going on?” Sendak demanded.

“Nothing,” Lotor said defensively.

“Don’t give me that,” Sendak said, leaning closer.

Lotor flinched away but there was nowhere to go.

“What- do you hate me now?”

“No!” Lotor said. “Of course I don’t-”

“Then why!” Sendak cried out. “Why are you doing this- leaving me-”

“I can’t,” Lotor said. “I can’t- I have to-”

He twisted out from under Sendak’s arm and somehow managed to pull the door open, escaping out into the hall. He wasn’t walking so much as running, running from the conversation Sendak was forcing on him. How could he possibly explain himself so that Sendak would understand? So that Sendak wouldn't hate him? How could he possibly say that he couldn't take it anymore- being so close and yet not close enough. He couldn’t do it- how could anyone do it-?

“Lotor!” Sendak cried out, following him, but Lotor didn’t slow down.

He slammed open the door out of the building and gasped as he was engulfed in a shock of cold water. It was pouring outside and he kept walking even as lightning sparked in the distance.

If he just went fast enough, far enough, he could-

“Lotor!” Sendak yelled, grabbing him by the arm to turn him around. “I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to- I’m sorry! Please don’t hate me- I-”

Lotor stared up at him in shock, not quite sure how to process what he was saying. “What-? I don’t-”

Sendak took him by the shoulders, leaning down to bring their faces closer. His eyes were rimmed with red, and- and- was he about to _cry?_ Oh god, he'd done that. Lotor had done that and it felt awful. He swallowed heavily, shaking more from the terror of it all than the frigid driving rain pelting him.

“I’m sorry," Sendak bit out, " _fuck-_ please!”

“Sendak-”

“Just tell me what I can do, and-”

“It’s not anything you did!” Lotor yelled, pushing his wet hair out of his face with a grimace. “It’s me, alright? I just- I can’t-”

Sendak stared at him, breathing hard. He seemed scared too, and then he tightened his hands over Lotor’s shoulders and swallowed hard. “Lotor. I love you.”

“I love you too,” Lotor said. “That didn’t change. That won’t ever change-”

“No,” Sendak interrupted. “No- Lotor. I’m in love with you.”

It took a second for the words to penetrate Lotor’s mind. He couldn’t have heard that right. It was the wind, the rushing sound of water all around them- he’d imagined it. He must have. “You- what?” he whispered. It couldn’t be possible. Sendak couldn’t mean it like _that…_ could he?

“I-” Sendak stumbled back, letting go of him. Lightning flashed in the distance to briefly illuminate Sendak’s face, his eyes wide with terror. “I- I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have- shouldn’t have said anything. Please, can we pretend I didn’t say anything?”

Lotor could only stare at him, breathing hard and shivering from the icy wind howling all around them.

 _“No,”_ he said, stepping forward to grab Sendak by the front of his shirt and drag him down into a kiss.

For a second Sendak was too shocked to respond, and then he was kissing back and wrapping his arms around Lotor’s waist and hoisting him up off the ground. Lotor was dizzy with impossible joy as he tightened his arms around Sendak’s neck. “Sendak,” he whispered, pulling back to press his face against Sendak’s neck. “I’m in love with you too.”

Sendak moved to kiss him again, and again, and Lotor couldn’t help smiling against his mouth until they were both laughing and everything else disappeared around them. They stood wrapped around each other for a long while, neither willing to move out of the embrace, until Lotor sneezed.

Sendak laughed, pulling back to brush Lotor’s sopping wet hair out of his face. “Let’s get dried off,” he whispered and took Lotor’s hand before leading him back inside.

They squelched through the halls until they reached their room, the door standing open from where Sendak hadn’t bothered to close it when he’d gone chasing after him.

After closing the door Sendak locked it and Lotor couldn’t help shivering with more than the cold. They never locked the door. Not unless-

“Can I…” Sendak whispered, stepping closer. Lotor could only nod as Sendak carefully cradled his face in his hands. He was so warm and Lotor closed his eyes as he leaned into his touch, his lips parting despite himself as his breathing quickened.

They kissed, slower now, as Sendak ran his hands down Lotor’s arms and took him by the wrists, urging him closer until Lotor wrapped his arms around him. The room was quiet except for their heavy breathing and Lotor gasped loudly when he felt Sendak’s hands slip under his shirt to rest on his lower back.

“Ok?” Sendak whispered and Lotor nodded, stepping back to pull off his shirt and letting it drop to the ground. Sendak stared at him like he was in awe and Lotor smiled as he stepped forward again and tugged at the hem of Sendak’s shirt until it was off too. Lotor bit his lip as he stared. He’d seen Sendak shirtless plenty of times before but it was different now when he was allowed to touch, when he knew Sendak wanted him too.

He raised his shaking hands to press his palms to Sendak’s chest. He was so _warm,_ so muscular and huge, so completely perfect.

Sendak leaned in to kiss him and it was hungry and desperate and Lotor moaned against him, at the feeling of Sendak’s giant hands gripping his hips. Lotor bit back a whine when Sendak pulled away only to stare as Sendak sank to his knees and brought his hands to the fastenings of Lotor’s jeans, moving slowly like he was giving Lotor the opportunity to tell him to stop. There was no way Lotor was going to tell him to stop.

Before he quite knew what had happened his pants were off and Sendak gave him a quizzical look as he slipped a finger under the waistband of his underwear.

Lotor nodded sharply, more excited and nervous than he’d ever been in his life. For a second he was painfully self-conscious but Sendak- gloriously shirtless and still damp from the rain- was kneeling before him and staring up at him like he’d hung the moon and all the stars in the sky.

Sendak leaned forward to press a kiss to Lotor’s hip, his stomach, slowly moving downwards.

“Sendak,” Lotor breathed out when Sendak pulled down his boxer briefs, dropping his hands to Sendak’s shoulders. He was trembling with desire and nerves, trying not to hyperventilate. It was nearly too much to wrap his mind around, that he was standing naked in front of Sendak and they were about to-

“Ah!” Lotor cried out as Sendak took his cock in his mouth. His knees nearly buckled at the hot wet slide of Sendak’s _tongue_ over him and Sendak took him by the hips to keep him steady as he bobbed up and down. Lotor shut his eyes as he panted, trying to keep it together so this could last.

Sendak made a small sound of pleasure and Lotor nearly lost it, overwhelmed by the sensation of Sendak’s mouth on him. And wow- he was sinfully good at this, taking him in deeper and deeper until Lotor could only stare in amazement as Sendak sank down all the way and did something with his tongue that made Lotor see stars.

“Sendak-” he moaned desperately, pushing back on his shoulders. He was so close he couldn’t take another second. Sendak pulled back to look at him, his cheeks flushed and his lips shiny with spit, his hair mussed. “Oh fuck,” Lotor whispered as he stared. Sendak looked so beautifully debauched and it was all because he’d been on his knees- sucking Lotor’s dick.

“Alright, baby?” Sendak whispered.

“Fuck,” Lotor bit out, stumbling back. “If you don’t stop being so fucking _sexy_ I’m going to end up cumming before you fuck me.”

Sendak stood with a laugh and swept Lotor off his feet before lowering him carefully to his bed and stepping back to take off the rest of his clothes. Lotor watched wide-eyed, his mouth going dry, and then Sendak was on him and they were kissing again.

“Oh,” Lotor breathed out when he felt Sendak’s cock pressing against him. It felt huge and he pulled away so he could look between their bodies. And yeah, that wasn’t his imagination. It really was-

“Oh my god,” Lotor said, his voice coming out strangled.

Sendak laughed again, pausing to trace his fingers over Lotor’s face. “It’s alright, baby,” he whispered. “We don’t have to go all the way tonight. It’s a lot for your first time.”

“I want to,” Lotor said, flushing. “And I- I’m not exactly- I mean.” He swallowed hard, words suddenly failing him.

“What?” Sendak asked.

“I mean. I’ve- I’ve- by myself. I’ve-”

“Oh,” Sendak said, his eyes widening in shock. “Oh fuck. That’s so hot.” He took Lotor’s wrists to pin them over his head as he bent down to kiss and bite at his neck, making Lotor shiver and throw his head back to give him more room. “Where? Here- in this bed, or-”

“Yes,” Lotor whispered, embarrassed and impossibly turned on. One of Sendak’s thighs was between his own and he shifted restlessly so he could try and rub up against him. “A few times.”

“Did you use your fingers, or do you have-”

“God, are you really gonna make me talk about it?” Lotor groaned.

“Maybe later, baby. Do you have lube within reach? Cause I really don’t want to get up.”

“I- yeah,” Lotor managed, distracted by Sendak shifting until he was settled between Lotor’s thighs, pushing his legs open wider. “Let me just- I’ll-”

When Sendak let go of his wrists he twisted to pull out the shoebox he kept under his bed, rooting around until he found the half used bottle. Sendak didn’t wait to take it from him, slicking his fingers in a hurry.

“Just tell me if it’s- too much, or-”

“Would you _just-”_ Lotor said indignantly only to cry out when Sendak slid a slick finger inside him. His muscles tightened at the intrusion and he clenched at Sendak’s shoulders as he screwed his eyes shut.

“Shh, easy baby,” Sendak murmured. “I’ve got you.”

He pressed light kisses to Lotor’s neck as he just- _waited-_ not moving until Lotor shifted restlessly. Finally he pulled back a little before pushing back inside and Lotor’s mouth fell open at the foreign feeling of it. It was nothing like doing it himself, and even this little was almost too much. Sendak was steady and slow, whispering to him as he added a second finger and Lotor jerked with a whine.

“We can stop,” Sendak said. “I can suck you off, and-”

“Don’t stop,” Lotor said. “Don’t you dare.”

So Sendak kept going, pushing into him steadily, working him open. He twisted his fingers and Lotor moaned as he felt something different, like a slow wave of pleasure pulsing through him. Sendak did it over and over again until Lotor was quivering and clutching uselessly at the sheets, and then he added a third finger and did it some more until Lotor was completely boneless beneath him.

When Sendak finally pulled away Lotor could only look up at him blearily, not sure what he was doing until he realized Sendak was rooting through the pockets of the pants he’d dropped by the bed. He pulled out a condom and Lotor laughed weakly, throwing his hand over his eyes.

“Oh my god,” he muttered, his voice coming out breathy and fond. “You just- you have condoms on you all the time?”

“It never hurts to be prepared,” Sendak said with a wolfish grin as he opened the packet. Lotor was oddly captivated as he watched Sendak rolling the condom over his dick and grabbing the lube again to get it slick. “I mean, here we are- in the best case scenario of what I hoped might happen after I announced my undying love for you.”

“I guess so,” Lotor said, smiling at him.

“Come up here,” Sendak said, sitting with his back to the wall and helping Lotor straddle his lap. “Alright?”

“Yes, darling,” Lotor said as he wrapped his arms around Sendak’s neck and kissed him. Sendak’s hands were on his hips and he helped Lotor rise up a little, moving so he could feel the head of Sendak’s cock pressing against his ass.

“Alright, easy now,” Sendak murmured.

“I- what do I-”

“Sit, love,” Sendak said.

“Ok,” Lotor managed, burying his face in the crook of Sendak’s shoulder as he started to sink down.

He had to bite his lip at how huge Sendak felt inside him. It burned but it was good too, the hot stretch, the feeling of fullness. By the time he’d managed to take Sendak in all the way he was shaking and gasping for breath, clutching at Sendak’s back to keep himself grounded.

“Oh fuck, baby,” Sendak breathed out, tightening his arms around Lotor’s waist and hugging him close for a long moment before taking Lotor’s face in his hands and pressing butterfly kisses to his lips, his cheeks, his neck. Lotor panted as Sendak murmured quiet nothings and dragged his lips over Lotor’s skin. It all seemed somehow unreal, sitting here together with Sendak’s cock _inside_ him.

“You alright? You with me?”

Lotor smiled, looking up into Sendak’s concerned eyes. “Yes,” he whispered. “I’m with you.”

He spread his thighs wider and pushed himself up a little so he could sink down again, whimpering at the feeling of Sendak inside him.

“Hold on tight,” Sendak murmured before taking him by the backs of his thighs to support him and then _standing_ like it was nothing. Lotor gasped and clutched at Sendak’s shoulders, dizzy as the world shifted around him. His back hit the sheets and Sendak was moving, thrusting into him slowly but firmly, pulling almost all the way out before pushing in again.

Lotor moaned loudly as he threw his head back and Sendak covered his mouth with a breathy laugh.

“We have neighbors, baby.”

“Mmff,” Lotor managed, his words muffled by Sendak’s hand over his face. He screwed his eyes shut as Sendak kept moving, fucking him so carefully. He wrapped his legs around Sendak’s hips and moaned again at the way the angle shifted. Every thrust had him shuddering and crying out, heat pulsing through him endlessly as his own cock twitched untouched between them.

Lotor wanted to touch himself but he couldn’t bear to let go of his hold on Sendak’s shoulders, and then Sendak sped up and he was lost.

There were sparks exploding over the backs of his eyelids and he whimpered, trying to arch up to get _more._ His erection was rubbing up against Senda’s stomach and he felt like very nerve was on fire, his whole body aching. Distantly he realized his toes were curling and then Sendak pulled his hand away from Lotor’s mouth to kiss him, sloppy and desperate, swallowing down all the sounds he was making.

Lotor tried to kiss him back but all he could focus on was Sendak driving into him relentlessly, his cock huge and hot inside him. It was pure bliss, so much better than anything he could have ever imagined.

Sendak moaned and the sound went straight to Lotor’s dick- Sendak wanted him, Sendak _loved_ him. They were together, they could be together-

He cried out, shuddering as he felt himself reach the edge and fall over, his whole body seizing as his dick twitched and he came, spilling over his stomach as Sendak kept fucking into him.

“Oh fuck,” Sendak groaned, “oh- _fuck!_ Lotor-” He buried his face against the side of Lotor’s neck as the movement of his hips grew uneven, and then he shuddered and stilled at last, breathing hard.

“Sendak,” Lotor whispered, running his hands through Sendak’s hair and over his back, enjoying the feeling of his body pressing him down. He was so warm, so heavy- he was perfect.

Eventually Sendak pulled away and took the condom off with a wince, tying it off and throwing it vaguely in the direction of the trashcan.

“Gross,” Lotor said with a laugh.

“Mmf,” Sendak muttered, kissing his cheek before pulling back enough to plant a wet kiss on his lips and rolling off. He wrapped his giant arm around Lotor’s waist and pulled him close, nuzzling his neck with a satisfied sigh.

Lotor closed his eyes and leaned back against Sendak’s powerful body. He couldn’t quite believe this was happening, couldn’t believe his luck. He shifted a little only to wrinkle his nose when he remembered his stomach was streaked with cum. Maybe he’d made some noise of displeasure because Sendak laughed and kissed him behind the ear before standing with a groan.

“Don’t move,” he said before walking over to the sink to wash his hands and dampen a washcloth. He came back and wiped the mess off Lotor’s stomach and then went lower as Lotor blushed and looked away. “You’re getting shy on me now?” Sendak said with a smile, pressing a kiss to Lotor’s knee.

“I’m not as shameless as you,” Lotor muttered.

“Not yet,” Sendak said, climbing back into bed.

“Watch your elbows!” Lotor said, laughing and ducking to avoid being smacked in the face as Sendak got comfortable and pulled him over to half-lie on his chest.

“Keeps you on your toes,” Sendak said with a content sigh and Lotor pressed his ear to Sendak’s chest, listening to his even heartbeat.

“What are we going to do now?” Sendak asked thoughtfully, raising his hand to stroke Lotor’s hair.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean- I’m pretty sure we missed the deadline to file the housing application. Unless you-”

“Oh shit,” Lotor laughed. He couldn’t believe it- it was so stupid. He’d been so wrapped up in everything else, so worried about things he apparently didn’t need to be worried about, that he’d completely forgotten.

“Are we… homeless now?” Sendak asked in a small voice.

Lotor only laughed harder until tears were streaming down his face.

“Baby,” Sendak said reproachfully. “This is kind of serious.”

“Right,” Lotor managed, calming down. He propped himself up on Sendak’ chest to look down at him fondly. “We’ll get a place off campus. We’ll have a real kitchen, and I’ll- I’ll bake on the weekends. And maybe we’ll have a balcony too, and- and potted plants. And we’ll have a decently sized bed. A queen- or even a king, to fit your ridiculously large body.”

Sendak smiled. “We can have a shitty futon, and argue about whose turn it is to do the dishes. And we’ll have neighbors we never talk to, and maybe we can put a grill out on our balcony. We can bring Kova too…” Sendak’s face fell. “But we- we can’t.”

“Why not?”

“I mean- isn’t your dad going to think it’s kind of weird when he helps us move in and we’ve got the one bed? You really think he’d be ok with- with-” Sendak waved vaguely at Lotor, at both of them.

 _“That’s_ what you’re worried about?” Lotor asked, laughing again. “Darling- he thought we’d been dating for two years now.”

“He- what?” Sendak asked, his voice coming out strangled. “Holy shit. That explains the really awkward conversation he had with me about using _protection_ that Christmas.”

“Oh my god,” Lotor said, pressing his face to Sendak’s chest with a groan. “Let’s not talk about my dad while we’re naked please. Let’s go back to talking about our awesome apartment.”

“Good call,” Sendak said, tightening his arms around Lotor’s waist. “I want an in-unit washer and dryer. I’m done hoarding quarters.”

“Mm,” Lotor hummed happily, twisting to pull the blanket up over them both. “Were you serious about Kova?”

“Of course, baby.”

“He’s going to try and sleep on your face.”

“We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.”

Lotor laughed, impossibly happy as he imagined their life together. “Hey,” he whispered after a while. “I love you.”

“I love you too,” Sendak said, and Lotor knew he meant it like _that._

 

 


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shiro, baby, I didn't forget about you. (tags have been updated)

 

* * *

 

Shiro contemplated the cold slice of pizza in his hand only to set it back down into the box with a heavy sigh. He picked up the joint he’d left smoking in the ashtray instead, taking a deep drag as he stared moodily out the window.

“Oh no,” Keith said as he walked into the living room of Beta Lambda Pi. “Not this again.”

“Hey,” Shiro said, looking over from where he was sprawled out on the ratty old couch.

“I thought you were out of the depression sweatpants stage,” Keith said, waving vaguely at Shiro’s threadbare sweatpants and tank top. “You were wearing real clothes yesterday, what the hell happened?”

Shiro shrugged noncommittally, raising the joint again only to frown when Keith snatched it out of his fingers and took a hit himself, staring pointedly.

“I saw Lotor and Sendak at the grocery store,” Shiro said in the hopes that Keith would stop _staring_ at him like that.

“What the hell- really? It’s barely August, classes don’t start for another three weeks. What are they even doing in town?”

“Grocery shopping, apparently,” Shiro muttered.

“Did you… talk to them?”

“No, Keith,” Shiro said with a glare. “My cart was full of frozen pizzas and Red Bull like I’m some middle-aged loser going through a particularly ugly divorce. So no- I didn’t _talk_ to them. I slunk away and hoped they hadn’t seen me while they were-” he waved his hand vaguely. “Picking out melons in the produce section.”

Keith snorted. “I think we both know neither of them are into _melons.”_

“I don’t know,” Shiro said with a shrug. “Sendak’s hooked up with girls before.”

“How do you even know that?”

“How do you not know that?” Shiro asked, snatching the joint back, or whatever was left of it. He nearly burned his fingers taking a hit and then dumped the roach into the ashtray with a sigh. “He’s like- the school hero. He scored the winning touchdown against-” Keith’s eyes were glazing over and Shiro figured he’d better stop while he was ahead.

“Anyway,” he said awkwardly. “They looked- good.” God, did they look good. Both of them happy and smiling, tan and so perfect. They looked good together, too. Sendak was over a head taller than Lotor, and when he’d set his hand on the small of Lotor’s back Lotor had shifted towards him and smiled like he’d just seen the sun come out from behind the clouds.

“I thought you were getting over this,” Keith said reproachfully.

Shiro sighed. “I was, but they’re just so- perfect.”

_“Shiro.”_

“I wouldn’t expect you to understand. You have no heart. Where your heart’s supposed to be there’s just a block of ice-”

“Jerk,” Keith said, slapping him in the shoulder.

Shiro managed a small smile.

“Oh hey, you have a text,” Keith said, picking up Shiro’s phone.

“It doesn’t matter,” Shiro said, throwing his arm over his eyes. “Nothing matters anymore.”

“You’re such a drama queen. It’s from- _kitten?”_

Shiro jerked up a little. “Oh shit. Lotor?”

“God, you’re gross,” Keith muttered. “It says- ‘could we talk? maybe tonight, around nine,’ and then there’s an address.”

“Holy shit,” Shiro breathed out. Fuck. He was fucked. “Well obviously I’m not going to do that. I’ll just- pretend I didn’t read it-”

“I mean, I opened it to read it, so the cat’s kind of out of the bag on that one.”

“Shit,” Shiro cursed again. “I’ll tell him I’m busy-”

He watched in horror as Keith started to type.

“What are you doing?” he asked, his voice coming out as a panicked squeak.

“I told him you’d see him then,” Keith said, tossing the phone to Shiro’s chest.

“You _didn’t,”_ Shiro said, scrambling for the phone to check, and- yeah. Yeah. He’d fucking done it. “Keith!” Shiro wailed. “That’s- that’s like an hour from now!”

“I guess you’d better shower and get dressed, huh,” Keith said with a shit eating grin.

“Fuck you,” Shiro said. “You couldn’t be cool for once? What the hell am I even going to wear?”

“Anything that’s not sweatpants would be a major improvement,” Keith said as Shiro got up and ran his hand through his hair. Shit, there was pizza grease on his hand, and now it was in his hair- but it was ok, he was taking a shower. Everything was going to be ok.

“Would you calm _down?”_ Keith asked. “It’s not the end of the world. Just shower and shave, put on your game face. And the gray t-shirt, the v-neck. With the black jeans and boots- the good ones.”

“Right,” Shiro muttered, heading out to hit the shower.

“I’m getting a _vibe_ from this text, man!” Keith called after him. “Trim your pubes!”

“Suck a dick!” Shiro yelled back.

Except now that Keith had said it he couldn’t get it out of his head. Was there a chance…?

No. Obviously not. Definitely not. Oh god. Shiro turned on the shower and leaned his forehead against the tiles as the water poured over him. God. He was going to get the shit kicked out of him, wasn’t he.

Lotor and Sendak were dating now, obviously. So they’d probably talked. Lotor had probably told Sendak about- about- There was no way Sendak would just be cool with knowing Shiro had- had let Lotor call him by his name, and-

Fuck.

But Sendak had _kissed_ him, so- so did he really have a leg to stand on there? God. Why was everything so twisted? Why was he such a dumbass?

He stayed in the shower longer than strictly necessary, like that could somehow magically solve his problems. He did trim his pubes though. Not because of anything Keith said, or anything that might… happen. Obviously nothing was happening. He was just- it was just time, so whatever.

After the shower he shaved and toweled off, putting on deodorant and then a dash of cologne only to wince and set the bottle down on the sink with a clatter. What the hell was he doing? Trying too hard, that was what. But it was too late to take it back unless he showered again and he really didn’t have time for that.

He went back to the bedroom he was staying in while he’d been taking his summer courses, rooting through his clean clothes. He tried on a few outfits only to finally take Keith’s advice and put on the gray v-neck t-shirt, straightening to stare at himself in the mirror. He stood sideways, squinting critically as he poked at his abs. He’d missed the gym the last couple of days, did he look… softer than usual? No. No, that was crazy. He frowned, trying to brush his hair back from his face.

“You look good, man,” Keith said and Shiro jumped, turning to see him leaning against the door frame.

“Yeah?”

“Good enough to meet the parents,” Keith said with a grin.

Shiro blushed and looked back into the mirror. Yeah. Yeah, he looked pretty good. It was going to be ok. Everything was going to be ok. “It’s not a date,” he muttered.

“Sure it’s not.”

“It’s not!”

“Wear the leather jacket,” Keith said. “And take your motorcycle.”

“It’s like a ten minute walk,” Shiro protested.

“You know you always feel cooler after riding that thing,” Keith said with a grin, coming closer and pulling a pair of aviators out of his pocket. “You could use a bit of cool right about now I think. Just- go now, ride around a little before heading over.” He slipped the aviators on Shiro’s face and patted him lightly on the cheek.

“Thanks, Keith,” Shiro said.

“It’s going to be ok,” Keith said. “Clear your head and try not to freak out.”

“Yeah,” Shiro said with a weak smile.

 

* * *

 

Not that he’d ever admit that Keith was right, but he did feel somewhat better after taking a little ride. The summer evening was pleasantly warm without being oppressively hot; the air smelled sweet. He took the scenic route to the apartment complex but as he walked up to the door he couldn’t help his palms growing sweaty. He clutched the bottle of whiskey he’d brought, feeling like a total idiot.

He’d snagged it out of the BLP kitchen at the last minute- Ulaz was going to kill him for taking it but he’d deal with that later- but now he felt weird about it. It’s not like he’d been invited to a housewarming party. He’d been invited to _talk,_ whatever that meant.

It was too late to worry about that now; he was already here. He took a deep breath and knocked on the door.

It opened almost immediately to reveal Lotor grinning up at him. Shiro’s breath caught in his throat- fuck he was gorgeous. He hadn’t seen him up close since the end of the semester and he’d almost forgotten how _blue_ his eyes were, how soft his hair looked. He was wearing an oversized t-shirt that was threatening to slip off his shoulder and a pair of soft black leggings. He was barefoot and there was a- a- _hickey_ on his neck, nearly faded but still unmistakable.

Shiro couldn’t help imagining how he’d gotten it, picturing Sendak pressing him down to their bed and-

“Shiro! Hey, come in,” Lotor said with a wide smile, pulling him inside.

“Hey,” Shiro said, somehow managing to keep his voice steady. He looked up to see Sendak standing in the middle of the living room. Damn, he was fucking huge. He was in just a tanktop and clingy track pants. He was barefoot too. Why was everyone barefoot?

“So this is a shoes off house, huh,” Shiro said.

“Yeah,” Lotor laughed just as a black cat slunk out of somewhere to come over and rub itself against Shiro’s legs, purring.

“Oh. Hey there,” Shiro said.

“Kova likes you,” Lotor said. “That’s good, or else we couldn’t be friends.”

“Sure,” Shiro said with a smile. He was still clutching the bottle of whiskey. Why was he still clutching it? He should probably hand it over, to Lotor, or Sendak, or hell- even to the cat. His fingers didn’t seem to be working quite right and he swallowed as Sendak walked over and picked Kova up.

“You think he’s joking but he’s really, really not,” Sendak said.

“You’re making me sound like a crazy cat person,” Lotor said, poking Sendak in the side.

“You _are_ a crazy cat person.”

Sendak looked a lot less terrifying while holding the purring ball of fluff in his arms, stroking Kova’s head gently.

“Nice place,” Shiro said, looking around. It was pretty nice- open and airy. There was a couch with a few throw pillows and a quilt laid over it and a huge TV mounted on the wall with game consoles underneath. The bookshelves had potted plants on them and the air smelled sweet, like vanilla and cinnamon.

“Thanks, it’s-” Lotor started, only to be cut off by an alarm. “Shit! My muffins!” He rushed off into the kitchen, leaving Shiro awkwardly staring at Sendak.

“Uh. So,” Shiro said.

Sendak frowned. “Listen,” he said after what felt like ages. “I’m sorry for- you know. Mauling your face. Earlier.”

“Sure,” Shiro said and didn’t know how to follow up on that. It wasn’t a big deal? It was fucking hot? No, that probably wasn’t the way to go. “Does he know?” he asked quietly, jerking his head towards the kitchen where Lotor was making some sort of terrifying racket.

“Yeah,” Sendak said. “I told him. He told me some things too.”

“Oh. Good,” Shiro said, feeling faint.

“They’re not all ruined, anyway,” Lotor said, coming out of the kitchen. He smiled and Shiro looked between him and Sendak, who opened his arms to let the cat jump to the floor and slink away.

“So- why am I here?” Shiro asked slowly.

Sendak and Lotor shared a _look_. It was full of hidden meaning and Shiro swallowed. Sendak stepped forward to take the bottle of whiskey out of his hands, going back into the kitchen.

“So,” Lotor said, blushing. “So- Sendak told me about- you know.”

“Sure,” Shiro said slowly. This was the part where he got his ass handed to him, wasn’t it.

“So- I know. Um. I know _I_ like you. And- and I know _Sendak_ likes you. I guess we were wondering if- if you might like us too.”

“Uh. What?” Shiro managed. What the hell was happening?

Sendak came back with three glasses of whiskey and Shiro took one gratefully, taking a deep gulp.

“You know, like-” Lotor shrugged awkwardly. “We just thought- you know. Maybe…”

“Is this- is this a booty call?” Shiro asked incredulously. He looked up at Sendak, fully expecting to get punched in the face, except Sendak was blushing.

“If you want,” Sendak said. “Or...”

“Or?” Shiro prompted, raising his eyebrows.

“Or more,” Lotor said. “If you want. If you wanted to- date us. Both of us. You know, like-”

“I get it,” Shiro cut him off. He felt faint. Was this real life? “You’re serious?”

“Yeah,” Sendak said. “We kind of got off on the wrong foot, but now-”

“Jesus,” Shiro muttered. “I mean. Well. Yeah. Obviously.”

“Yeah?” Lotor asked.

“Yeah,” Shiro said. His heart was pounding and he wiped his sweaty palms on his pants as Lotor smiled and walked closer, taking Shiro’s face in his hands and moving to kiss him.

Shiro gasped, still feeling uncertain. Sendak was watching, his eyes dark and unreadable, and then Lotor deepened the kiss and for a moment Shiro forgot about everything else. His lips were soft and he was so much more certain now than the last time they’d kissed. Of course he would be- he and Sendak had probably been fucking all summer all over this apartment-

There was a hand on his back and he jerked in surprise, turning to see Sendak behind him. Sendak pulled the glass of whisky out of his hand and set it down on a nearby shelf before pushing his jacket off his shoulders.

“Uh-” Shiro said, but Sendak set a giant hand over the back of his neck and kissed him. Fuck. If he wasn’t hard before he definitely was now. Shiro wasn’t exactly a small guy but he felt small with Sendak’s hand on him and it was amazing. Sendak could probably throw him around like it was nothing, hold him down-

And then Lotor was there, pushing his hands up under Shiro’s shirt, and Shiro was distracted by how beautiful he was, how good he felt. Sendak was pressed to his back and Lotor was wrapping his arms around his neck and he had no idea how he’d ended up here but he must have done something amazing in some previous life for this to be happening to him now.

“Wait,” he gasped, pulling back. “Wait, how- how do you want to… do this?”

“We figured I’d fuck you,” Sendak said. “While you fuck him.”

“Well. Ok then,” Shiro managed. “That’s a plan.”

Sendak raised an eyebrow while Lotor laughed.

“Or we could just have a drink, hang out,” Lotor said easily. “We could leave the rest for-”

“No, no-” Shiro interrupted. “We have a plan. We should definitely stick to the plan. What’s the point of a plan if you don’t stick to it?”

“Eager,” Sendak murmured as Lotor laughed and took his hand.

“Come on,” Lotor said and Shiro followed him down the hall into a bedroom. The bed was huge, covered in two mussed blankets and a small mountain of pillows. Shiro’s brain short circuited when he saw the bottle of lube standing on the nightstand. Sendak and Lotor _fucked_ in here, maybe even today, this morning-

Lotor pushed him down to sit on the bed as Sendak knelt before him to unlace the boots he’d never gotten around to taking off. Lotor slipped his hands under Shiro’s shirt to pull it off while Sendak opened his belt.

Holy shit. This was happening. Both of them were- oh fuck. _Both of them._

“Holy shit,” Shiro said as Lotor pushed him to lie down and bent down to kiss his neck while Sendak sat between his legs, stroking the insides of his thighs.

“You ok?” Lotor asked with a smile.

“I mean. I’m not entirely sure I’m _awake,_ but otherwise I’m- yeah.”

Sendak pinched him and Shiro yelped, sitting up a little to glare at him. “Watch it, Sendick.”

“You’re awake, Shit-o.”

Lotor laughed but then Sendak took Shiro’s cock in his mouth and Shiro let his head drop back to the sheets with a groan. “Holy shit,” he managed, shaking as Sendak swallowed him down, taking him in impossibly deep. “Fuck,” Shiro groaned. “Oh fuck- he’s- he’s good at that.”

“Yeah,” Lotor said, laughing again.

“Jesus fuck,” Shiro breathed out, screwing his eyes shut and clutching at the blanket under him.

“You didn’t curse this much when we hooked up,” Lotor said, stroking his chest.

Sendak growled or hummed or _something_ that made Shiro gasp and see stars.

“He doesn’t like to be reminded about that,” Lotor whispered into his ear. Shiro opened his eyes to see Lotor staring down at him with a wicked smile and reached up to grab Lotor by the back of the neck, dragging him in for a kiss.

“Why-” Shiro panted when Lotor pulled back. “Why am I the only one naked around here?”

“You’re the guest,” Lotor said with a cheeky smile, but then he pulled off his shirt and stood to take off his leggings. He wasn’t wearing underwear. He was hard, his dick so pretty and flushed.

“Come here,” Shiro managed. Sendak was still sucking him off like some kind of champion and Lotor smiled as he came closer.

“Come here,” Shiro repeated, grabbing Lotor by the hips and pulling him in until Lotor was braced above him and Shiro could take him in his mouth. Lotor moaned and shuddered over him, and then Sendak was talking, saying-

“Give me the lube, baby.”

“Yeah,” Lotor said, reaching over to the nightstand before handing it back.

Shiro braced himself and still it was a strange shock to feel Sendak’s slick fingers against him. Thank god he’d trimmed his pubes. Or- thank Keith.

He couldn’t properly think straight with Lotor’s cock in his mouth and Sendak’s fingers in his ass. This wasn’t real life, it couldn’t be- and then Sendak twisted his fingers to expertly hit Shiro’s prostate and he groaned around Lotor’s cock, tightening his hands over Lotor’s hips.

“Give him some space, baby,” Sendak said and Lotor pulled away, moving so he could lie next to Shiro and kiss his neck. Shiro could only gasp for breath as Sendak added another finger, working him open expertly.

Of course he’d be good at this. If the rumors were true he’d had plenty of practice. And Lotor was there too, so perfect and pretty, smiling as he kissed the corner of Shiro’s mouth and teased his earlobe with his teeth before sliding down to press kisses to his neck and chest.

Sendak added another finger and Shiro made a pathetic cut-off sound, overwhelmed at the stretch. Sendak’s fingers were thick and his cock would probably be-

“Easy,” Lotor said with a laugh and Shiro looked down his body to see Sendak staring up at him. He twisted his fingers, pushing in _hard,_ and Shiro’s heart skipped a beat as he let his head fall back down to the bed.

“Oh fuck,” he whispered. He’d never been this hard before. This was just- ridiculous. His life was ridiculous.

“You wanna get yourself ready, baby? Or do you want me to do it?”

“Sure, I can-” Lotor started.

“Let me,” Shiro managed, his heart thundering in his chest. “Let me- can I?”

Sendak stopped with his fingers still buried deep in Shiro’s ass and Shiro forced himself to keep his hips from moving even as he fought to catch his breath.

“Baby?” Sendak asked.

“Yeah,” Lotor said with a grin. “Ok.” He kissed Shiro firmly before moving away.

“Lie down, love,” Sendak said gently and Lotor moved into position, spreading his legs.

“Go on then,” Sendak said, pulling his fingers out of Shiro at last.

“Sure,” Shiro managed. His arms and legs felt like jello but he managed to sit up and kneel between Lotor’s thighs, looking around for the lube until Sendak settled behind him, pressed up close to his back.

“Here,” Sendak murmured into his ear before running his teeth down the side of Shiro’s neck.

“Uh,” Shiro said, his brain short-circuiting. But Sendak was pouring lube over his fingers and Lotor was in front of him and he finally managed to get it together enough to stroke his fingers over Lotor gently, watching him shiver. “Ok?”

“Go on, do it,” Sendak said and Shiro pushed a finger inside.

Lotor made the prettiest little sound, like something desperate and joyful all at once, and Shiro couldn’t help pushing in deeper. It was easy- Lotor was relaxed around him. He knew how to do this, take this. Of course he did, he and Sendak probably-

“Focus,” Sendak growled into his ear and Shiro whimpered a little as he felt Sendak’s hand on his dick, stroking him slowly. “Don’t leave him wanting.”

“Yeah,” Shiro managed, moving forward to finger Lotor more firmly.

“Another,” Sendak said, his voice stern like a command.

Shiro pushed a second finger inside Lotor and was captivated by the way he moved into it, practically melting into Shiro’s touch.

“He’s not going to break,” Sendak said before moving to take Shiro’s wrist with his free hand. “Like this.”

He made Shiro speed up, angling his fingers a little differently. Lotor yelped and jerked like he’d been electrocuted and Shiro couldn’t quite catch his breath. He was dizzy from the way Sendak was pressed up against him, touching him, from the way Lotor writhed on his fingers and cried out.

“Another,” Sendak ordered and Shiro added a third finger, letting Sendak maneuver his hand, showing him how to fuck Lotor, how he liked it.

“He’s ready,” Sendak said eventually, when Lotor was panting and clutching at the sheets. “How about you?”

“I- _fuck,”_ Shiro managed. “Yeah, I-”

Lotor huffed out a quiet laugh and looked up at him with the sultriest smile Shiro had ever seen. “Come on then.”

“Right, I-” Shiro went to pull his fingers out only to stop and stare at his dick. He needed-

“Here,” Sendak said before reaching around to roll a condom on for him, and that really shouldn’t have been hot. It should have been awkward and annoying except Sendak was licking a hot stripe up his neck like some sort of sexy beast and his hands were on Shiro’s dick so obviously it was amazing.

Lotor made a small impatient sound and shifted to spread his legs wider. Shiro knew how to take a hint. He bent down over him, biting his lip as he pushed inside. The heat and pressure enveloping his cock was incredible, and then Lotor wrapped his arms around Shiro’s neck and pulled him down for a kiss. For a second he forgot about everything else, except then there were giant hands on his hips- Sendak’s hands.

“Ready?” Sendak asked.

“Oh fucking hell,” Shiro managed, screwing his eyes shut as he buried his face against Lotor’s neck. Right, the whole _I’ll fuck you while you fuck him_ thing. That’s what they were doing. Right. His dick twitched inside Lotor’s perfect little ass and he forced himself to just- not think about anything at all for a second so he wouldn’t cum right then and there. “Just- give me a minute.”

 _“Sure,”_ Sendak said, his voice a deep sexy rumble. Shiro had a feeling Sendak was making fun of him but he didn’t have it in him to care. Lotor raised his legs up higher to tilt his hips up and Sendak stroked Shiro’s back while he trembled and tried to get himself together.

“Ok,” he managed at last. “Ok, I’m good.”

And just like that Sendak was settling behind him and pushing his giant cock inside as Shiro whimpered at the invasion. Lotor was whispering something and running his fingers through Shiro’s hair, and then Shiro felt Sendak’s thighs against him and could barely believe it- Sendak was in to the hilt.

“Holy shit,” he breathed out.

“Good?” Sendak asked.

Shiro laughed breathily and moved a little, trying to get used to the sensation. “Sure,” he said, only for Sendak to slap him on the ass.

He yelped and jerked, his eyes flying open. Lotor moaned underneath him, shifting to try to fuck himself on Shiro’s cock.

“I want better than _sure,”_ Sendak growled and started moving, slowly at first. That was good enough on its own, except the fact that he pushed Shiro in and out of Lotor with every thrust made it mindblowing. Shiro couldn’t quite wrap his head around it, being trapped between them like this. Lotor pulled him down for a sloppy kiss and Shiro could only moan into his mouth, turning away after a few scant seconds so he could try and catch his breath.

Lotor didn’t seem put off, he just reached past him, and then Sendak was bending down to press his chest fully to Shiro’s back and he and Lotor were kissing over Shiro’s shoulder.

“Get your arms under his knees,” Sendak said and it took Shiro a second for the order to penetrate his brain. He did what he was told, pushing Lotor’s legs open wider and up towards his chest and nearly came at Lotor’s desperate whine, the way he arched his back. Sendak shifted somehow too and from there it was smooth and easy, each thrust perfect.

Shiro let his body relax into it, letting Sendak’s powerful thrusts drive him into Lotor under him. His skin was slick with sweat, his heartbeat pounding, and then Sendak wrapped an arm around his chest to drag him up to kneel over his lap.

Sendak nosed along his neck as he reached down for Lotor’s cock, stroking him firmly as Lotor moaned. Shiro was still inside him and he could only watch, captivated, as Lotor lost control. Shiro dropped his hands to Lotor’s hips to pull him closer as Sendak sped up.

The sounds he was making were going straight to Shiro’s cock, not to mention the way he moved, his muscles tightening. Sendak murmured something that sounded like ‘baby’ that Shiro couldn’t quite make out through the rushing of blood through his ears and Lotor keened as he arched up, his cock pulsing as he spilled over his belly.

Shiro couldn’t help the little jerking motion of his hips as Lotor’s muscles spasmed around him with his orgasm. Each movement drove him deeper onto Sendak’s cock until he was gasping and finally Sendak took mercy on him and started fucking him more firmly.

The strength of his orgasm nearly had him blacking out as Sendak kept _fucking_ him like he had all the stamina in the world, holding him tightly by the chest as he snapped his hips up into his ass for what felt like ages before he finally let go.

Shiro was only halfway conscious for the slightly awkward rearranging of limbs that followed until they were all lying in bed, Lotor in the middle. He stumbled through pulling off the condom when something wet plopped down on his stomach and he found himself staring blearily at a wet wipe.

“Wow, you guys are pretty prepared,” he managed as he wiped himself off and tossed the wipe and the condom into a conveniently placed trash bin.

“Yeah,” Lotor laughed, leaning down to kiss him before moving to lay on his side with his hand on Shiro’s chest. Sendak pressed against Lotor’s back, wrapping an arm around his middle.

Shiro let himself catch his breath for a moment before turning back to them with a faint frown. “So. So, should I… leave?”

“What?” Lotor asked, startled. “No, of course not.”

“He’s making pancakes in the morning,” Sendak said, his words muffled against the back of Lotor’s neck. “Half the time they turn out pretty good. You should stay.”

“Oh,” Shiro said, smiling widely. “Ok. Do I get a cutesy nickname, then? If I’m staying?”

“You already have a cutesy nickname,” Sendak said. “Shit-o.”

“Wow, ok,” Shiro said with a laugh. “I guess that’ll have to do, Sendick.”

Lotor made a quiet little sound and Shiro looked at him in surprise to see he was already asleep. And yeah, that seemed like an amazing idea. He was exhausted after all _that._ He reached around for a blanket as Sendak did the same and between the two of them they managed to get Lotor decently covered up too.

“Good night,” Sendak whispered.

“Yeah, you too,” Shiro whispered back and closed his eyes.

 

* * *

 

In the morning Shiro was entirely sure that the whole thing had been a particularly vivid dream or maybe some kind of wishful hallucination. But he opened his eyes to a room that wasn’t his and a rumpled bed with two blankets on it. He was alone but he could hear water running close by and soon enough Sendak and Lotor came in damp and with towels wrapped around their waists.

“Hey, you’re up,” Lotor said with a smile.

“Awake, at least,” Shiro managed, distracted by all the skin on display before him. Sendak was built like a Greek god and Lotor was the ideal complement- lithe and wiry, small and perfect. “Mind if I- could I shower?”

“Yeah,” Sendak said, rooting around in a closet to pull out a fresh towel and tossing it his way. Shiro tried not to feel self conscious as he wrapped it around his waist and slunk off in the direction he hoped the bathroom was in, finding it easily enough. He showered quickly, still feeling a little dazed, and then got dried off and put his clothes back on. His boots were still laying discarded by the bed and he couldn’t help blushing as he picked them up and went into the living room.

Lotor was sprawled out on the couch, his hair pulled back into a braid. He was wearing a fresh pair of leggings and a giant plaid shirt that he’d rolled up to the elbows. Shiro flushed as he realized it must have been one of Sendak’s.

“I thought you were making pancakes?” Shiro asked.

Lotor looked up from the book he’d been reading and sat up, patting the couch beside him with a bright smile. “We’re out of eggs, it turns out. Sendak went to get more.”

“Ah,” Shiro said, sitting next to him.

“Hey, are you ok?” Lotor asked, tilting his head to the side. “You had fun last night, right? This isn’t… too weird?”

“I mean. It’s pretty weird,” Shiro said. Lotor’s expression fell towards something tragically disappointed and Shiro hurried to add, “good weird, though. Really.”

“Oh,” Lotor said before dropping his book to the coffee table and climbing up into Shiro’s lap. “Good,” he whispered before kissing him. They made out until Lotor slipped down to his knees to suck him off and Shiro could only groan and clutch at the couch cushions, his mind going hazy as Lotor worked him over.

“I’m back,” Sendak said as he walked through the door and Shiro’s eyes flew open in shock. But Sendak didn’t seem angry or jealous. If anything, he seemed turned on.

“Thanks,” Lotor said, kissing Shiro’s stomach one last time before pulling back. “I guess I’d better go make those pancakes, huh.”

Shiro was confused by this turn of events, watching Lotor walking away into the kitchen. Except then _Sendak_ took his place and continued sucking him off until he came with a loud moan.

“Your neighbors must hate you,” Shiro said later, when they were all eating pancakes on the couch and watching dumb cartoons.

“We just have the one, and she’s deaf,” Lotor said. “She loves us.”

“Lucky,” Shiro answered with a laugh.

Afterwards they played video games for a while, chatting easily. Way more easily than Shiro could have hoped for. He had a lot in common with Lotor, obviously. But it turned out he had a lot in common with Sendak, too. They argued for what felt like an hour about the best lifting programs before Lotor got fed up and whipped off his shirt with a sigh.

“I’m bored, can we please go have sex?”

Shiro stared as Sendak stood, taking his clothes off as well. “You’re going to break me at this rate,” Shiro said incredulously.

“Keep it together, Shit-o,” Sendak said with a smirk.

“Sure,” Shiro managed, and let Sendak pull him to his feet.

 

_fin?_


	12. After Credits Scenes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Like any good rom com... you gotta have after credits scenes!

 

* * *

 

 

“Nerd,” Throk said, knocking the book out of Lotor’s hands.

Lotor looked up at him in confusion. “What are you doing?” he asked. “Are you trying to bully me or something?”

“Yeah,” Throk said, bending to pick up the paperback. He flipped through it disdainfully before ripping it in half and dropping the pieces to the ground.

For a long second Lotor was speechless. “You’re an idiot,” he said at last.

“You’re going to replace that,” Shiro said from behind him.

“Or I’ll break your face,” Sendak added.

Throk turned slowly to see Sendak and Shiro staring him down, and behind them- at least forty guys with the same murderous expression on their faces. Half were from the football team, the other half from BLP.

“You should probably run now,” Lotor said mildly and Throk took off like a bat out of hell.

“Do you want us to chase him down, baby?” Sendak asked while Shiro squinted after him.

“Nah,” Lotor said, leaning back on the grass. “Weren’t you going to play awesome frisbee or something?”

“It’s called ultimate frisbee, kitten,” Shiro said with a quiet snort. “And no, actually. We were going to play soccer.”

“Well, whatever,” Lotor said, waving his hand dismissively. “Hop to it.”

Sendak shrugged and the two of them walked away, arguing about whose team was going to be shirts and whose was going to be skins.

“You and your beer gut buddies should keep your shirts on,” Sendak said. “No one wants to see that.”

“Screw you, Sendick,” Shiro laughed, shoving him in the side.

Somehow they all ended up shirtless and Lotor watched without complaint, startling a little when Ezor came out of nowhere to plop down beside him.

“I heard there was something beautiful happening here,” she said as she stared. “Looks like it’s true.”

Lotor looked around to see they weren’t the only spectators.

“So how many of them are you fucking?” Ezor asked.

“Just the two,” Lotor said with a laugh, pointing at where Shiro had Sendak in a headlock for some reason. Sendak twisted away and threw Shiro over his shoulder, running back to his side of the field while Shiro laughed and tried to get away.

“Damn,” Ezor muttered, blushing. “Nice.”

“Yeah,” Lotor said with a grin.

 

* * *

 

“Would you stop fidgeting?” Sendak asked, elbowing Shiro in the side as they stood on the front stoop of Lotor’s house. Lotor’s dad’s house. Jesus it was huge.

“I’m trying!” Shiro hissed back, adjusting his tie for the millionth time. It still didn’t seem right- too tight, or loose, or- or _something._ Either way he couldn’t breathe and he was sweating so hard he was worried he might have pit stains in his sport coat.

“He’s going to love you,” Lotor said just as the door opened.

Shiro swallowed heavily as he looked up at the largest man he’d ever seen in his entire life. Jesus fuck. _This_ was Lotor’s dad? He was a giant, a mountain of a man who looked oddly handsome in his reading glasses. Shiro’s brain short circuited. He didn’t just think that. He didn’t. He didn’t just think that Lotor’s _dad_ was handsome, holy shit what was wrong with him.

Sendak poked him in the side and Shiro stuck his hand out on instinct, freezing when Lotor’s dad- Zarkon- went to shake his hand.

“Hello Mister Lotor’s dad,” he said dumbly only to flush and jerk backwards. Fuck! What the-

Sendak and Lotor burst out into laughter, followed by Zarkon himself.

“Oh my god,” Shiro muttured, burying his face in his hands. “Oh my god, I’m so sorry. I know your name- Mister Daibaazal, um. Mister Zarkon. Um- I just-”

“Come inside, son,” Zarkon said in a loud booming voice, clapping him on the shoulder. “The last person who said that to me ended up becoming my son’s very best friend, so you’re in good company.”

“Jesus,” Shiro muttered, letting Lotor and Sendak pull him into the house.

“Take off your shoes!” a woman’s voice called out from the kitchen. “Cleanliness is next to godliness. When I was a nurse-”

 _“In the great war,”_ Zarkon, Sendak, and Lotor chimed out in unison.

Lotor laughed at Shiro’s puzzled expression, pulling him down into a quick kiss. “Relax, sweetheart,” he whispered. “Everything’s going to be fine.”

 

* * *

 

“What if we got married?” Lotor asked thoughtfully, setting his book aside. The three of them were curled up in bed together as the rain pounded on the window outside, creating a soothing backdrop to the peaceful Sunday afternoon.

Sendak stopped stroking his hair in surprise as Shiro snorted.

“Pretty sure that would be illegal, kitten,” Shiro said.

“I’ll marry Lotor and you can be the special friend,” Sendak said, nudging Shiro in the side with his elbow.

“Screw that,” Shiro said, nudging his back. “I’ll marry him first and then _you_ can be the special friend.”

“I’ll arm wrestle you for him,” Sendak said.

“Like I’d go up against your freakish upper body strength. How about chess.”

“Rock paper scissors,” Sendak countered.

“Don’t I get a say?” Lotor asked with a laugh.

“No,” Sendak and Shiro answered in unison.

“Maybe you should marry each other and _I’ll_ be the special friend,” Lotor said.

“How are we supposed to inherit your trust fund then?” Sendak asked, moving to tickle him.

“Well I’m definitely not marrying either of you now that you’ve spilled your nefarious plan!” Lotor managed through his laughter.

“Way to go, Sendick,” Shiro said, putting Sendak in a headlock to wrestle him down into the sheets. “All our planning has been for nothing!”

Lotor laughed fondly as he watched their wrestling turn into a sloppy make out session. It had just been an idle thought but now it wouldn’t leave his head. What if…

“Get in here,” Sendak said, pulling back from Shiro long enough to tug on Lotor’s wrist.

“I want to be in the middle this time,” Lotor said, leaning up to kiss Shiro, and then Sendak too.

“Sure thing,” Shiro said, his hair mussed and cheeks flushed. “Anything for our special friend.”

**Author's Note:**

> Find me on tumblr at [barbitone](http://barbitone.tumblr.com/) and pillowfort also at [barbitone](https://www.pillowfort.io/barbitone)


End file.
